By Your Side
by sunnie5
Summary: War is hard. Especially on young padawans. This is mostly a series of single/multi-shots about Anakin and Ahsoka helping eachother through the hardships of warfare and missions. Not Anisoka! May include other characters as well.
1. Pushing it to the Limit

**Hi! So this is really my first story and I would love some feedback. This is the first installement of some one shots I plan to do. They will mainly be focused on Anakin and Ahsoka and troubles they have to deal with from the war. It will not be Anisoka! Rather brother-sister/ friendship stuff. I have some ideas for future chapters, but I also hope to take some ideas from you guys too! Sorry for spelling and formatting mistakes, I was having some trouble with both.**

 **Of course, I own nothing.**

Ahsoka dodged the blaster fire, as it came in rapid succession. All of it was just as quickly deflected or dodged by the 15 year old padawan. Sweat had begun pouring down the side of her face and down her back over an hour ago, but she never paused to wipe it away. Breathing heavily, Ahsoka flipped several times to avoid the blasts aimed at her feet. This movement quickly followed by a leap onto a high beam above her head. Unfortunately, this movement put her in the direct path of another one of the bolts, which hit and stung her in the shoulder.

"Aaaghh!" Falling semi-gracefully the ten feet to the floor, Ahsoka hit with a thud. "Blast!" she muttered to herself. Using the force, she turned off the training droids that were still hovering around her. She winced at the pain in her back from the fall. Determining nothing was truly damaged, she made her way over to the side of the training room where she wiped the sweat from her face with a towel. She then chugged the remaining water in her canteen.

After finishing her water, Ahsoka glanced around the training room. This was one of the more popular training areas for knights and padawans, as it contained special training equipment and, with its spacious set up, was ideal for sparring training between masters and their padawans. Except one particular master was nowhere to be found that evening.

Consequentially, Ahsoka had been using several training bots that hovered around the user and shot stung bolts. They were slightly more advanced than the ones the younglings trained with, in that they could be set at higher levels of difficulty and were more mobile. They offered good reflex training.

One half of the room was open floor for sparing; the other side contained half a dozen balance beams of different heights (one of the higher ones of which were responsible for her fall a moment ago). Short platforms were suspended high up along the walls. Those training would often use those beams and platform to leap around the room while sparing; something she was known to do. The Jedi symbol was painted proudly at the center of the far wall.

It had been two weeks since she and Anakin had returned from their last mission. Normally, the Jedi duo would have already been assigned another mission or campaign at this point, but the council decided to, in their words, "give them a break."

When she learned this, Ahsoka had been less than pleased. For her, the break meant long and dull hours of study, as was expected of the padawan, while her master was out carousing Coruscant, doing who knows what. Still, Ahsoka had made up her mind that she would focus on improving her skills as much as possible during this period of dull respite from the war. In other words, she was training. A lot. Agility, reflexes, endurance, strength, and close combat with and without her lightsaber were all areas of focus. Not to mention the usual classes, studies, and assisting in the the youngling classes.

At first her, master had suggested she take things a little easier. "A break like this doesn't come around every day." Besides, they had been swamped with back to back missions for months. None of which had been anything shy of grueling both mentally and physically. Hence, the Council's decision to give them some time off.

Ahsoka however was having none of it. True she was tired from the missions. Beyond tired, actually. The past few days seemed to have brought their own new level of exhaustion for her. The past week she had been having greater trouble sleeping and Anakin had mentioned she seemed to be moving slower when they spared. He tried to convince her to take a day or two off of training, and she said she would think about it. In truth, she only said that to stop his lecture. She feared that if she "took things easy," even for a day, she would fall to pieces and would never be able to pull herself together again. Keeping physically and mentally occupied took her mind away from the hauntings of previous missions and the torturous images and consequences they brought up. Besides, even a moment of training could mean the difference between life and death for her, her master, and men. Therefore, she trained and she trained hard. She figured that if she upped her work outs a bit more she could just work past her exhaustion induced sluggishness. At the very least, she could wear herself out enough to get some decent sleep.

Suddenly realizing that she had been the only one occupying the training room for several hours now, Ahsoka risked glancing at the chrono suspended on the wall. 2 AM. _Perfect_ she thought sarcastically. Collecting her towel, and empty water canteen, the young padawan made the trek back to her and Anakin's shared quarters.

Upon entering, she could sense that her master was not there. This did not come as a surprise since he often disappeared for the night when they were back at the temple, only to magically reappear an hour or two before sunrise. Besides, if he had been present, he would have found her in the training room hours ago and scolded her for the excessive training.

Their shared quarters were standard for Jedi master and padawan teams. It was comprised of a medium sized common room with a small kitchen on the far side. On opposite sides of the common room were two small bedrooms, each of which had a simple but sufficient bathroom.

Ahsoka placed her canteen on the table and made her way to the room on the right. She felt lightheaded, and had to stop in the doorframe for a moment. After a quick shower, she set her chrono for 6 AM like usual. Her first class wasn't until eight, but she wanted to get in a short workout before. Slumping onto her bed, she immediately fell asleep.

Anakin calmly drove his speeder back to the temple after being with his wife for the evening. It was still dark. The sun wouldn't be up for another couple of hours, but he had to be back before his padawan woke up to realize he was missing.

Pulling up to the temple, the Jedi knight allowed his worries to travel back to his padawan. She had been pushing herself these past months. Their missions had been very taxing and he was relieved for both their sakes when they were told they would have a few weeks interval at the temple. While some training was still expected of them, his padawan seemed to be taking that demand a bit too seriously. He had noticed her slowness during the last mission they had. He didn't say anything to her then, knowing it was pure exhaustion and any mention of it to her would have only been dismissed, with maybe a snarky remark thrown in. And after finding out they would have a couple weeks off he had dismissed the small worry he had. Surely it was nothing a few days rest couldn't fix.

Unfortunately this did not prove to be true. Ahsoka seemed more dedicated to her training and studies than ever before since arriving back on Coruscant; attacking them with vigor. He had suggested she dial it down a bit and just enjoy the time off, but she only did the opposite. Anakin recognized it was her way of coping with the past missions. The heartache they had seen. The troops they had lost. He was reluctant to order her to ease up on the training because after all, how many times had he used that very method to cope? And doing so would label him a hypocrite, a fact he knew his oh so observant padawan would not be shy to point out.

He had decided to give her a couple of days to burn things off. But those few days had passed over a week ago. Plus, her movements were becoming more sluggish and stiff, almost as though moving in itself pained her. He tried to subtly comment on her slowness the other day, hoping to encourage her to slow down. He doubted she did and knew that if things kept up he would have to have a talk with her about it. Hypocrisy accusations or not.

Anakin quietly made his way through the temple, into his and Ahsoka's quarters, and then his room. Tugging off his boots, he allowed himself to sleep the last couple of hours before breakfast.

Anakin awoke to bright sunlight streaming through his small bedroom window. Drowsily, he began preparing himself for the day and pulled his boots back on and secured his lightsaber to his waist. Making his way to the common room, he sensed Ahsoka's presence still there. She was normally up before him.

He felt like something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on what precisely. Nothing alarming exactly, like the warning the force sent seconds before a bomb was about to go off, or when a blaster bolt was coming straight at his head.

He glanced at the chrono to check the time. It read 7:33 AM. He was glad to see that Ahsoka was sleeping in for once, but knew that if she didn't get up now she would be late for her history of the outer rim class.

Making his way to knock on her door, he thought he could faintly hear an alarm going off. Deciding it had just gone off and Ahsoka would be out and rushing to class in another minute or two, Anakin made his way back to the kitchen to make some caf.

Five minutes and a persistent _beep beep beep_ later, Anakin was back at his apprentice's door and knocked twice. "Hey Snips! You going to get up soon or just let your alarm wear itself out?" He was met with no answer. Frowning, he opened to door.

Ahsoka lay there undisturbed in bed, sleeping soundly. This sight actually caused Anakin's frown to deepen. She was never one to sleep through an alarm. Heck, the sound of a fly landing on the wall could usually wake up the painfully light sleeper, and she was almost always awake a few minutes before her alarm anyways.

"Snips?" Anakin gently nudged her shoulder. "Snips? Ahsoka?" No movement. Ok now he was worried. He could feel her in the force and saw the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, so he knew she was alive. Still something was seriously wrong for her to still not be awake. Picking up her wrist to check her pulse, Anakin was met with an unsteady though clearly present heartbeat. It seemed to be going too fast for someone still asleep, especially someone so physically fit.

After shaking her shoulder harder once more, she finally began stir. "Whaa?" she looked at him with half opened bleary eyes. Anakin gave a short huff of relief. "Ahsoka, are you feeling ok?" He felt her forehead as her eyes seemed to become a bit more focused.

"Mm… master?" Her troubled speech quickly revealed a form of panic, as did her eyes. Barely able to raise her head she cried, "Master! I can't move! I can't move!"

Okay so something was definitely wrong. Trying to hide his own heightened panic, he told her, "It's okay. It will be okay. We are going to have the healers take a look at you alright?"

Anakin quickly scooped her up, and headed straight for the Temple's Hall of Healing at a fast walk.

Anakin nervously paced just outside the exam are that was currently occupied with his padawan and a couple of the Jedi healers and medical droids. After he had carried her in, he had been bombarded with a series of questions. "Had she been displaying any strange symptoms? What and when had she last eaten? Could she have by any chance been exposed to any sort of toxins?"

After being kicked out of the room so the healers could run some tests on Ahsoka, the Jedi knight had resorted to pacing back and forth by the door. He tried to wrack his brain for any new bits of information that could possibly be of use in determining the cause for his padawan's current state.

After a while, the doors finally opened with a swoosh and one of the healers, Jedi master Jy, a middle aged Rhodian, walked out. Jy was known for being serious and for her lack of tolerance for anything that made her job harder. Immediately Anakin spun around towards her, but Jy held up her hand to hold off his questions. "Your padawan will be just fine. It would appear her state is due to severe physical burnout."

Anakin released a breath of relief. "So what's next?"

"We gave her something to help her sleep. Right now sleep is the best thing for her. We are also currently administering different electrolytes to aid in her recovery. She will have to stay here for least another day or two to make sure she improves and that the treatments we are administering take effect. I must ask, how long has she been showing symptoms of exhaustion?"

Anakin tried to ignore the slight accusatory tone that laced Master Jy's voice. "We've had a rough last couple of missions and she's been pushing herself pretty hard in training. I didn't know it was as bad as this."

Jy nodded her head. "Well her body is going to need lots of rest and some time off in order to recuperate. And I will be holding _you_ in charge of making sure that she gets that rest."

"Easier said than done," Anakin muttered under his breath.

Either not hearing or choosing to ignore him, Jy continued. "After a couple of weeks she may start to ease back into some _light_ training and slowly work back up from there. But until then make sure she does not engage in any sort of strenuous activity. Am I clear?"

"Of course Master."

"Good. You may go and see her now if you wish, but as I said, she is sleeping. If you wake her, you answer to me."

After a quick thanks, Anakin walked past Jy and to Ahsoka's bedside. She was under a thin blanket and wearing standard patient clothes. Both of her arms were hooked to multiple IVs. She was breathing steadily as she slept.

Sitting down in a nearby chair, Anakin sighed in defeat. Running a hand through his hair, he looked away from his padawan's sleeping form to stare at the floor. How had he allowed things to get this bad? Ahsoka was _his_ responsibility. _His_ padawan. He should have been more concerned about the warning signs she had shown in the past few weeks. Bringing his eyes back up to her sleeping form once more, he knew he would have to find a way to get her to cooperate and rest the next couple of weeks like Master Jy had instructed. Preferably a way that didn't involve physically tying her to her bed.

Ahsoka slowly opened her eyes, blinking to get them to focus. "Hey Snips," came her master's voice. "About time you woke up." She recognized the slight guilt to his voice and his smile that was only half-hearted. _Oh great. The healers_ she thought as she put two and two together, between Anakin's façade and the white walls she took into observation.

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"Well, in another 20 minutes, it would have been a solid 14 hours. I do believe that is a new record on your part." He grinned teasingly, which was shortly replaced by a frown. "Ahsoka, do you remember what happened?" She thought back, and her still groggy mind recalled to earlier that day.

She had woken up to Anakin shaking her shoulder (how did she not hear him come in to her room?). When she had tried to rise, she was unable to lift anything other than her head. Even that had been a struggle. At first she thought something was holding her down. When she realized nothing was there, and that she couldn't even move her arms or legs, she was flooded with confusion and panic. Her thoughts had felt jumbled and it was all she could do to call out to her Master.

"I woke up and couldn't move. You said you were going to take me to the healers," she answered.

"That's right. I spoke to Master Jy. Ahsoka…" Anakin sat back down before continuing. "She said you have a very severe case of burn out. How hard exactly have you been training lately outside of our normal sessions?"

"Pretty hard," she admitted guiltily. "Master, I wasn't trying to over-do it. It's just that it's the only way I know to keep myself going sometimes." Anakin's eyes softened.

"I understand Snips. Trust me. Sometimes you feel so overdone, you think that if you stop you won't be able to get going again huh?"

"Yeah," came the soft reply.

"But Ahsoka," his voice remained soft but became slightly more stern. "I have also learned that pushing yourself too far like you've been doing, will only cause more damage in the long run. I know our missions have been tough, especially with this war." Ahsoka knew he wasn't just referring to the physical demands, but more to the emotional ones. "Seeing so much pain, having so much expected of you, it's hard stuff. And that is why I am here. As your master, I am here to help you through it. I just need you to be honest with me and to not be afraid to tell me when you're not alright. Do you understand?"

Ahsoka took a deep breath and sighed. Looking down, she replied, "yes Master."

"Good," Anakin grinned, straightening up. "Because I am pretty sure Master Jy will personally take my head off if you overwork yourself again. Every few hours, when she has been coming to check on you, I have been getting some major stink eye from her." Ahsoka couldn't help but chuckle at this.

She was NOT pleased when Anakin informed her that she would practically be on bed rest for the next week or two, but her displeasure was somewhat relieved when Anakin mentioned he had just spoken to Padme a couple of hours ago. It turned out she was getting ready to visit her family on Naboo, and her and Anakin had arranged for them to accompany her for a couple of weeks. Although lazing around on any planet was less than desirable for Ahsoka, it was undeniably preferable to do so in a peaceful place like Naboo rather than the dull grey walls of her living quarters.

Smiling, Ahsoka agreed to Anakin and Padme's plans. As she began to slowly drift off again, she was grateful to just feel safe with her master at her side.


	2. Covered Part 1

**Hello again! First off, thank you McAwsome and MR. HELPER for your reviews! Both made me smile (seriously!). I just wanted to let you know, my chapters have been much longer than I had expected, so I decided I will break these one shots into multi-shots when they go over a certain word limit. The second half of this chapter should be up within the next day or two:)**

Once again, they were back on Felucia. Because it was in an important hyperspace lane location for control of the Perlemian Trade Route, the Republic was determined to maintain control of the system. Unfortunately, Separatist forces were equally determined to seize that control for themselves.

For the past several days, Anakin, Ahsoka, and the 501st had been defending the planet from the ground. Obi-wan and his men led the battles in the atmosphere above. After half a dozen ground battles, all but one of which were won by the Republic, the remaining Separatist forces had all but retreated into their last stronghold, a small city called Pylon. Really, it was more of a settlement by Ahsoka's standards and all of its residents had long since fled, leaving it to the droids. Anakin was attempting one final push to get the Separatists off of the planet for good (or at least for a while) by driving them out of Pylon. If he could do that, and Obi-wan could hold off the last of the Separatist reinforcements, the planet would be secure.

Unfortunately, this was easier said than done. Even with the low remaining number of droids, Pylon was much better fortified than had been anticipated. The main cause this problem was that the separatists had somehow managed to install a well-armed 20 foot wall all around the perimeter of the city almost over-night. Said wall was currently doing a very good job at keeping the troopers and Jedi alike outside of the stronghold/city. None of the soldiers had gotten any closer than 15 meters from the base of the wall before they were shot down. Most of the troops had resorted to taking cover behind the surrounding rock formations and large jungle flora as they continued to try to create an opening.

Troopers determinedly dodged and fired at the battle droids on top of and at the bottom of the city's wall. It was a seemingly consistent pattern. Dodge. Fire. Duck.

"Take cover!" yelled Captain Rex as a couple of grenades came flying towards him and four of his men. They all dodged to various directions, although only three of them, including Rex, were able to move out of the way in time to reach safety. Ahsoka did her best to deflect blaster fire away from both herself and men. Anakin was several meters ahead taking out an advancing pair of battle droids. Several more men were taken out as Vulture droids began to fire at them from above.

"Blast! Obi-wan was supposed to keep those from breaking through!" shouted Anakin in frustration. He flipped over several fallen droids to take cover behind a rock formation from the oncoming fire. To his side, Ahsoka sprinted over to take cover beside her master. She was getting really fed up with their lack of progress and increasing number of losses. "Master! We are losing too many men! We need to fall back! Or at least come up with a better strategy than barging right into the city like we planned. Their forces are stronger than we anticipated!"

Anakin scowled in irritation at this. She was right. He had foolishly expected any remaining Separatist forces to be weaker in ammo and strategy. Not to mention the now hovering vulture droids and sudden appearance of that blasted wall.

Anakin didn't respond right away. There had to be a way for them to still win! If they lost this battle, the Separatists would take the chance to regroup and fortify while the 501st would have to take the time to develop a new strategy. He would be back at square one. Thinking it over quickly, Anakin came up with a new plan.

"Snips, you're with me. Rex!" The clone captain rushed over and ducked down besides them. Anakin then turned towards him and continued, "Rex, I need you to lead the men. Keep everybody here for as long as possible but hold off on any direct advances until I give the word. Ahsoka and I have some work to do!"

"Yes Sir!" Rex scampered back off to aid his men.

"What's the plan master?" asked Ahsoka.

Anakin grinned mischievously. "You and I are going to leap over the wall. They will be less likely to notice and bother with two people than a whole squad of troops. It's not so heavily guarded farther down because all of their forces are concentrated on the troops in this area, so we'll make the jump over there." He ducked as nearby explosion went off before continuing. "Then, we'll take as many of their droids and gunners out from behind, and clear a path for Rex and the men to get through."

"And by clear a path I assume you mean cut a doorway through the wall?"

"Well, I was thinking we could blow it sky-high like we did on Geonosis, but your way saves time."

"Sounds like a plan. Lead the way Master!"

The master-padawan team set off, being careful to stay concealed behind the terrain's thick foliage. Sweat form the jungle humidity clung to their skin, but neither noticed at the moment. A couple hundred yards down, they reached a lowly guarded section of the wall. They made quick work of disabling the few droids that were present. Leaping to the ground, the pair scurried off to a nearby house.

Reaching into the pack he carried, Anakin handed two droid poppers to his apprentice. "Alright, here's the plan Ahsoka. We're going to sneak up as close as we can get to those droids. You are going to take out as many as you can with the droid poppers on this side of the wall. Then I am going to keep the ones on top of the wall distracted, while Rex keeps the others on his side occupied."

"What about the vulture droids?"

"Hopefully Obi-wan will break through to take those out. Now let's go!"

The two made their way stealthily from building to building, occasionally slicing through any battle droids they came across. Thankfully, when they were half way to their destination, Obi-wan came through as hoped for and began drawing the attention of the vulture droids back to the battle in the sky and away from the soldiers on the ground.

They arrived to the battle's hotspot. Anakin force leapt to the top of the wall and drew the enemy fire. Meanwhile Ahsoka threw the two droid poppers at the droids on the city side. Finishing off the last dozen with her lightsaber, she set to work cutting a large circle in the wall. When it was complete, she jumped up to join her master to help draw as much fire as they could in order to give the clones time to get through.

When this was accomplished, Anakin gave his signal to Rex. Rex turned to his squad. "Go men! Go! Go! Go" They charged through the newly made entry point and made quick work finishing off the remaining droids in the city. At this point, things seemed promising, as the battle was clearly almost won. All they had to do now was capture the enemy commander in the city and neutralize the last few droids. Unfortunately, things were about to take a near tragic turn.

Ahsoka leapt down to join the clones in sweeping the perimeter. Anakin followed suit. As they hurried past a pair of houses, Anakin felt a flash of a warning that turned his stomach cold. "Ahsoka get down!"

Using the force to boost his speed, Anakin reached his padawan at the very moment a way ward bomb went off. Using his body, Anakin shielded the girl from the brunt of the blast. Still, the force of the explosion threw them into the remains of a partially collapsed building and the world went dark for the two Jedi.

There were three things that registered in the mind of the young Togruta. The first was a fog which was accompanied by the sensation of someone hammering her skull. The second was an obnoxiously loud ringing sound. The third was the most confusing. It was the feeling of a warm and sticky substance that seemed to be coating her head. Her arm. Her side.

Slowly, Ahsoka managed to pry open her eyes. After being momentarily blinded by a bright light, she registered a heavy weight on top of her. Post brief confusion, she came to the realization that the weight was her master. "Master?" No response. She quickly managed to worm her way out from under him and sat up, finding herself in a pile of building remains.

There, in the full light, Ahsoka was startled to see that the substance was in fact blood. But it was not hers. Looking back to the still unconscious Anakin, her stomach flipped and her head spun. There, lay Anakin with blood practically pouring from his neck, quickly coating the upper half of his body. An overbearing metallic smell hit her nose. Stumbling to her knees, Ahsoka applied pressure to the wound with shaking hands. The world began to spin faster and everything became distorted. She could hear someone screaming and vaguely registered it might be her. Who could tell for sure? The ringing was too loud.

 _No no no no no,_ was the only thing her mind could process. He couldn't die! She couldn't lose him! Not yet! Not like this! Help! She needed help!

Suddenly, she felt someone pry her arms away. Anakin was moving further away. Wait, _she_ was the one moving further away. Floating. No, not floating, someone had picked her up from behind and was moving her several paces back so that the field medics could start to work on Anakin.

The ringing finally began to subside. "Commander? Kid? Ahsoka!" Ahsoka's head whipped to the side as Rex's familiar and concerned face filled her view. Kneeling next to her, he had one hand placed on her shoulder. His helmet was secured under his other arm. Ahsoka comprehended he was addressing her. "What?" Frown deepening, Rex spoke again.

"I asked where you are injured. You're bleeding."

Ahsoka looked down once again to the red smeared on her arm, chest, and side. "That's not mine. It's not mine." Her voice was starting to give way to panic. Rex tried to calm her, but comforting his commanding officers was not exactly something he was well rehearsed in. Especially when said officer was a teenage padawan. "Hey, hey. It's okay. Kix and the others are gonna fix him up. He's in good hands." Rex said, nodding his head towards Anakin.

A medical evacuation crew arrived within a few brief minutes. By then, Kix and the others had managed to slow Anakin's bleeding with a clotting agent. During that time, Ahsoka had just sat in a wide-eyed daze, watching as the clones tended to Anakin. Rex had remained faithfully at her side, awkwardly patting her back. However, as soon as the ship landed to take Anakin and the other injured to the Medical bay back aboard the Resolute, Ahsoka jumped up to follow with a renewed vigor. She did her best to keep her master within her direct eyesight, but still stay out of the med team's way.

 **Thanks for reading :) Hope you have a great day!**


	3. Covered Part 2

**Here is part 2 of Chapter 2 :) I was kind of rushing it, because I may not have a lot of time to write the next few days, so I apologies for mistakes and if it's not as good.**

 **of course, I own nothing**

After finally breaking into the blasted city, Rex led his troops into and around various compounds, blasting the remaining and scattered droids. As soon as they had managed to actually get into the city, it was quick work. However, this lucky turn of events was not long lasted.

As Rex rounded another corner, finding it clear, the ground shook with a nearby explosion. He found cover immediately, not knowing if more bombs were about to go off or even where exactly the first bomb had been. The troops behind him followed suit. A moment's wait revealed that only the one bomb had gone off and it was safe to press forward. Well, as safe as one can get in a battle field.

He signaled the men to continue sweeping the area, when heard an anguish-filled scream. Although the planet was hot and humid, gooseflesh appeared on his skin. The scream evolved to desperate shrieks for help.

His blood ran cold when he recognized the source of the screaming. _The commander and general! They're in trouble!_ Rex took off full sprint to the source of the noise, followed closely by several others, one of which was Kix and another field medic.

Turning a corner, Rex saw a bloody Ahsoka kneeling over an unconscious general. _Oh no. Not good_ , he thought. Anakin appeared to have some sort of neck wound, as Ahsoka was trying desperately to quench the flow of blood. Rex paused briefly in grief-filled shock, thinking his general might very well be dead, at least if Ahsoka's hysteria was anything to go by.

Rex was quickly shaken out of his stupor when he saw Kix trying and failing to move Ahsoka out of the way. If the general was alive and was to stay alive, the medics would need to work fast before he bled out. That was something they could not do with the commander hovering over him like that.

Stepping forwards, Rex lifted Ahsoka under the arms from behind. He took her a couple of meters away, and was surprised she did not fight him or even react. Gently setting her down, his arms came away bloody. _OHH, not good._ He glanced her over, but could spot no obvious major lacerations. He gently placed da hand on her shoulder and kneeled down. "Commander Tano? Where are you hurt?" He frowned at her lack of acknowledgement.

"Commander?... Kid?... Ahsoka!?"

That did the trick. "What?" she asked confused. Rex repeated his question and told her she was bleeding. Ahsoka looked down and responded in panicked voice, "That's not mine. It's not mine!" She looked back to Anakin and her breathing became heavy.

Rex glanced back over to the general, who was currently being given a clotting agent to slow the bleeding in his neck. Putting two and two together, Rex came to the conclusion that she and Skywalker must have been caught together in that blast. If Anakin had been covering her, his wound could have easily bled onto the girl. He also realized that the terror she was clearly feeling was directly correlated to the state of her master.

Rex looked back to the commander. "Hey, hey. It's okay. Kix and the others are gonna fix him up. He's in good hands," he said, nodding his head towards Anakin. He hoped he was right. Ahsoka seemed to slip back into shock and sat there, with his arm awkwardly on her back as they waited for Anakin's medical evacuation. He was starting to wonder if she might have a head wound, as she seemed a more than a little out of it. Then again, surviving an explosion, seeing her master near death, and being covered in his blood could do that to people.

He was surprised how fast the ship got there, and he was about to call one of the medic's over to take Ahsoka in case she really was hurt. However, seeing that her master was being taken away, she was again shaken out of the stupor and jumped up to follow. Knowing she was in good hands, Rex was left in charge of helping the remainder of his men clean up the battle.

Taking a calming breath, for what she thought was at least the hundredth time in the past hour, Ahsoka brought her knees further into her chest. She was trembling still, and knew it was because her adrenaline rush was wearing off. The young commander was currently sitting semi-patiently on the hard floor of a back-way hallway just outside of the med bay onboard the Resolute. The main hallway had too much traffic. Anakin had been in surgery for a little while now.

Back on the transport ship, one of the clone medics had started to ask her of her injuries, but she quickly brushed him off, calmly restating that the blood was not hers. The walk from the hanger to the med bay was a bit of a blur. In fact she couldn't remember it in any detail. Once inside, she had numbly watched as close as the doctors allowed, as they checked his vitals and prepped him for surgery.

Apparently, being covered in blood was a magnet for a medic's attention; hence the reason she was waiting in the hallway rather than the med bay's waiting room. Twice, doctors had approached her to ask of her "injuries" and "where she was hurt". The first time it was a medical droid who she easily dismissed. The second time, an actual doctor had insisted on still checking her over, "just in case". She had folded her arms over her, as though that would cover the blood from sight. She began to feel a little frustrated. "It's not my blood! I'm fine." With that she speedily walked out of the back exit to the med bay, watching from the corner of her eye as Anakin was taken into the surgery room. The doctor had not followed to her relief. There were plenty of other patients to tend to after a battle.

In the past hour or so, Ahsoka had gone through more emotions than she would have cared to share. Pure panic, worry, confusion, numbness, frustration, and a dwindling sense of loneliness. Now, she was just exhausted. Her head was killing her, everything was sore, and her chest felt tight. Part of her wanted to go back inside. To keep updated on her master's condition. The other part was so drained, she just needed to sit there and process everything. Her mind seemed to becoming increasingly foggy. She did not even think of going to get cleaned off.

She figured if she wasn't so spent already, she would probably be a bit embarrassed at how she reacted in front of Rex and the other clones earlier. She probably would be later. A commander should have more composure. Right now however, she didn't care. She didn't know how long Anakin's surgery would take. Taking another breath, she curled in tighter and put her head on her knees, grateful for the emptiness of the hall.

Obi-wan was not having a good day. Sure it could be worse. Far worse, in fact. But knowing that did little to lighten his irritation. The battle in the atmosphere above Falucia had finally subsided. At first, it looked like keeping the Separatist reinforcements back would be easy. However, it had surprising complications when they had managed to sneak through by deploying buzz droids that grounded or destroyed half of the fighters in his squad. That in itself was overly frustrating. His annoyance was furthered, knowing that Anakin would doubtlessly tease him relentlessly for it. He hated flying.

After fixing that mess and forcing the last of the Separatist fighters into retreat, Obi-wan was hoping to finally get some rest. He hadn't slept in a full day. All he wanted was to enjoy a nice cup of tea and a short nap before the debriefing meetings started. These peaceful plans did not last long.

Rex had commed him, to inform him that the battle on the ground was complete, as they had eliminated the remaining droids and taken the city. At first, he was confused why it was not Anakin or Ahsoka telling him this. When he asked Rex where they were, Rex replied reluctantly that they were back aboard the Resolute. Anakin had been injured. It wasn't good.

Obi-wan had jumped back into his fighter and made the short trek to the Resolute, leaving Cody to take care of finishing any clean up in the atmosphere. Trying not to run, he hurriedly walked towards the medical center.

Walking up to a medical droid, he asked about Anakin's condition.

The droid's monotone response came. "The General received a laceration to the neck, from which one of his carotid arteries was partially slit. He lost over half of his blood, but the problem is being corrected in surgery. Besides that, he appears to have a concussion and will need a blood transfusion. However, he is expected to make a full recovery. Excuse me, but I must get back to the other patients."

Obi-wan thanked the droid and internally scolded himself for his worry. Knowing Ahsoka would probably be sitting anxiously in the waiting room for her master to come out of surgery (Anakin was not the best teacher in terms of controlling emotions or attachments), he made his way there. He wanted to ask her how Anakin had gotten himself injured.

Upon arrival, he was surprised to find the padawan absent. He tried her comm, but the call went unanswered. He could sense her nearby, but didn't know where exactly. After stopping several medics, one of them informed him he had seen the young commander exit through the backway some time ago.

Obi-wan found this strange. _Maybe she went to get some rest,_ he thought. This idea was quickly dismissed. Whenever Anakin or Ahsoka had been injured before, they had stuck by the others side as though they would spontaneously combust if apart.

Afraid something was wrong; he decided to go find the padawan. He expected he would just have to follow her trail, asking troopers where they had last seen her. This task was surprisingly short. He made his way towards the back exit. There she was, curled up a few feet past the doorway of the abandoned hallway.

Right away, Obi-wan could feel something was wrong. She didn't even look up when he approached. Her eyes were partially closed. He could feel the mix of emotions, the pure exhaustion, that was radiated off of her.

Crouching down next to her, he tentatively called her name. Ahsoka? She gave a small start, as though surprised by his presence. "Master Kenobi?" she asked in surprise.

Obi-wan frowned. She had uncurled slightly, and he saw that she was covered in a fair amount of dried blood. _Why hadn't the medics taken care of her?_ Looking her over in concern, Ahsoka realized what he was thinking. For the 5th time she said, "It's not my blood." At first, Obi-wan looked slightly confused, so she tried to clarify.

"There was an explosion. He tried to cover me. It's An…Anakin's bl…ood." At this last sentence, her voice choked. She was not crying exactly, but her breathing became infused with upset hiccups. Normally, a Jedi Master would be expected to reprimand a padawan learner for such an expression of emotion. Such attachment to her master. But at the moment, all Obi-wan could do was feel empathy for the girl.

He had barely been a padawan by her age. Hardly seen the galaxy's cruelties first hand. Yet here she was. Fourteen and expected to be a leader in a war. Of course she was going to break down every now and again.

Wrapping both arms around her, he pulled Ahsoka close. "Hush child," he cooed. "I have already spoken to the medics. They assured me that Anakin will be just fine."

"There was so much blood," she whispered. "I thought… I thought he was dy…ing. It was ma..my fault. I did…n't sense the bo…omb so he, he covered m…me and I didn't mean for hi..im to get hur…urt…"

Obi-wan again felt a renewal of empathy for the girl. "Padawan listen to me. It was NOT your fault. The blame lies with whoever planted the bomb. And as I said, Anakin will be just fine in a few days' time."

Slowly, she nodded her head in understanding.

"Why don't we go get you cleaned up?" he asked.

She looked at him as though not comprehending. "Maybe a change of clothes?" he tried again.

Suddenly, her face lit up in understanding. _Why hadn't she thought of that herself?_ Standing up, he helped Ahsoka to do so as well. She seemed a little wobbly. _Head injury most likely,_ he realized. She definitely seemed a out of it.

Because of this, Obi-wan took her back into the med bay to have them look her over and get her cleaned off. If she had a concussion, he would rather not risk her health by leaving her to the privacy of washing up alone.

At first she had protested, saying she was fine. One stern look from the Jedi Master had silenced her objections. A short time later, Ahsoka was clean and wearing patient clothes. It was no surprise when the medics informed Obi-wan that she did indeed have a concussion, as well as some bruising. They had given her a mild sedative to get her to sleep and keep her calm.

In the meantime, Anakin had also been patched up. He and Ahsoka were given a shared recovery room. It hadn't been long since Ahsoka fell asleep when Anakin woke up. At first, he was slightly panicked. His words slurred together and he was definitely out of it. The last thing he remembered was the explosion and trying to get to his padawan. Obi-wan calmed him down, pointing out that she was safe and asleep right across the room. "Oh," was Anakin's disoriented reply and he immediately went right back to sleep.

Obi-wan had shaken his head in amusement. Both Anakin and Ahsoka could be a handful on their best days. Now, while both of them were recovering from concussions, he pitied who ever would have to look after them the next few days. With a heavy sigh, he realized that duty would probably fall to him. Maybe he could convince the medical staff to keep them sedated until they were fully recovered. A man could dream.


	4. Not Your Fault

**Here is the latest story! It is the request of guest reviewer MR. HELPER. Basically, Ahsoka blames herself for the death of a civilain and Anakin help her through it. Thank you to those who have reviewed! Sorry for any mistakes. Also, I am planning to make the next chapter a little more light-hearted. So far they have been kinda depressing. Of course, I own nothing.**

Anakin ran. He was breathing heavily but gave no thought to stopping. His padawan was ten full paces in front of him (when did she get so fast?). She too was running full speed. They had to constantly dodge and hop over vehicles, citizens, and other obstacles as they chased a bounty hunter through the streets of the Coruscant underworld. Suddenly, Anakin sensed a warning half a second too late. He collided hard with a civilian. The force of the impact sent the Jedi Knight flying several feet to the side. By the time his vision cleared, the civilian was shaking his fist and yelling at him in some language he did not recognize. Anakin got to his feet, but was troubled when he realized both the bounty hunter and his student were nowhere in sight.

It had all began six hours ago. The council had gotten word of a bounty hunter who went by the name Sicarius. It was a stupid name in Ahsoka's opinion. As of so far, the bounty hunter was wanted for killing at least 5 individuals from hired jobs alone. According to an informant, Sicarius was supposed to meet with a dealer over another target that night. The intended target, a local businessman, had since been placed under protection in secret. Anakin and Ahsoka had been immediately dispatched to intercept and capture the bounty hunter.

It had gone well at first. Minus the boring wait. Not knowing when exactly Sicarius would arrive at the designated destination, a bar in the Coruscant underworld, Anakin and Ahsoka had arrived on scene early that evening. They had both been sitting at a booth in the back for hours. Their cloaks were drawn low to cover their faces and line of work. As the clock drew closer to midnight, Ahsoka's patience was running thin. She continually drummed her fingers along the table. She was tired of sitting and was getting antsy. Anakin, who was also bored, continued to sit stoically as he tried to stay focused and provide an example for his padawan. In truth, if his padawan had not been there, he would have also been drumming his fingers and huffing a sigh or two of impatience himself.

Just as he was beginning to doubt the info they had been given, Anakin saw a familiar figure walk in. Sicarius was known for wearing a jet black cloak and a silver mask and boots. His exact species was unknown, but he was some form of humanoid. His signature weapon, a personalized rifle, was strapped to his back. He made his way over to the bar area.

Anakin subtly nudged Ahsoka, and pointed to their target with his eyes. Nodding her head, she quietly stood up to cover the back exit. Anakin rose and cautiously walked up behind Sicarius. Sicarius was known to be unnaturally quick and precise in his movements. The plan was for Anakin to sneak up behind the man in order to arrest him. Ahsoka would cover the exit in case he tried to escape. Of course, things never seemed to go exactly as planned.

Before Anakin even had a chance to activate his lightsaber, the bounty hunter was out of his chair. He kneed Anakin in the stomach hard. Anakin went down, grasping his side. Instead of running out the back exit like expected, he made a break for the front. Because of this, Ahsoka had to run across the crowded room and out the door. Anakin, having since recovered, was only a step behind her.

So there they were, chasing the bounty hunter through the crowded streets of Coruscant. The chase had been going on four over ten minutes now and showed no signs of stopping.

Sicarius had tried and failed to lose the Jedi by ducking down allies, jumping gates, and running through as many other obstacles as possible. At some point or another, the older Jedi had been shaken off, but the smaller one was closing in. What he did not realize however, was that the padawan who was closing in was especially good at acrobatics, and was therefore finding those obstacles easier to dodge than he did.

In a desperate attempt, the mysterious bounty hunter dodged into another ally. It was rather short stretch, and had several doors on one side that served as the back exits for stores built into the surrounding compounds. Unfortunately for Sicarius, the ally was a dead end. On top of that, the building was too smooth to scale and there were no pipes, windows, or other objects he could use to climb out. His only option was to fight the Jedi that now guarded his escape route. He grinned behind his mask when he realized that the 'Jedi' was only a teenage girl. A small one.

"Surrender!" Ahsoka's steady voice demanded. Her two lightsabers were drawn and ready. The bounty hunter gave a malicious laugh. "It is you who should be surrendering to me youngling. I find no honor in killing kids, but I will do what I have to. This is your one chance. Move." His voice was deep and distorted due to the mask.

"Not happening bounty hunter. You're under arrest!"

Quicker than she could blink, the masked man pulled out twin blasters and began firing in rapid succession. Ahsoka managed to deflect or dodge each one. Somehow, the man was also able to dodge several of the blasts that Ahsoka had deflected back towards him. He was incredibly quick and precise in his movements. Still, Ahsoka could sense that he was tiring. She began to look for an opening to rush and disarm him. In another few seconds it could have been over. He would have been apprehended and she would have had successfully completed the mission. But again, things did not go according to plan.

It happened too quickly for Ahsoka to process right away. Suddenly, one of the back doors that were in the ally opened up. A young Twilek woman stepped out, carrying a bag full of trash she intended to dump in the back ally. How she did not hear the ongoing battle or why she had to choose just that moment to take out the trash, Ahsoka would never know.

Before her mind had even fully realized the presence of the newcomer, Sicarius had acted. Firing another blast, he spun around, seized the woman, and pulled her in front of him as a shield. In the process he fired his last shot. Ahsoka meanwhile, deflected the first of those two blasts. Then the second. Both were aimed right back at the man. It was only after she deflected the second of those shots when she realized her mistake. It was then she noticed the woman. By then, it was too late.

As in slow motion, both the bounty hunter and his hostage dropped to the dull gray ground. The entire scene in the ally way had lasted no more than a full minute. Within that time frame, it had only taken a second and a half for the Twilek woman to enter, get taken hostage, and then get killed along with her captor. She never even screamed.

Ahsoka suddenly found herself on the ground with both hands clasping her mouth in horror. Her two lightsabers clanked to the ground, forgotten in the shock of the situation. Someone was speaking, her master, but the words were inaudible. The only coherent thought her mind could piece together was, _Oh no. No. No. What did I just do!_

Once again, Anakin was running. He desperately raced, trying to catch up with his apprentice and their suspect. Although he could not see either of them, his bond with his apprentice guided him in their general direction. He was still running when he heard the blaster fire. Following the noise, he was lead to a back ally way. If only he had been faster.

Rounding a corner, Anakin was just in time to see the scene unfold. Sicarius snatched a woman from an open doorway. As he did so, he fired twice more at Ahsoka. Ahsoka deflected each of them back at him. Sicarius pulled the hostage in front of him. Right in the line of fire. But the woman had not been tall enough to provide protection from the second shot that was deflected right at his head. Both died instantly. The whole scene was maybe two seconds long.

At first, Anakin gaped in dismay at the scene. He knew right away that it was not Ahsoka's fault. Still, a hostage had just been killed. An innocent. That was something that should never happen. His dismay was quickly spiked to fear when he saw Ahsoka fall to her knees, her lightsabers falling to her sides.

Her back was to him, so he could not see if or where she was injured. Practically teleporting to her side, Anakin rushed over to her aid. But there was no wound. Not even a scratch. At least not physically. She was starring in utter horror at what lay before her. Her eyes her wide, haunted. Her hands were clamped over her mouth tight. "Snips?" Anakin tried. "Are you alright?" She didn't move or acknowledge him in any way. "It wasn't your fault Ahsoka. It wasn't." Her breathing was heavy due to the recent excursion and the shock of the situation. She still didn't reply, but continued to stare at what lay before her.

Gently, he managed to guide her to a sitting position just around the corner, just out of sight of the horror. Anakin had clipped his padawan's lightsaber to his own belt. She still was not responding and he didn't want to risk losing them. He contacted the local law enforcement to have the bodies taken care of. Barrowing one of their speeders, he took his numbed padawan back to the temple.

The debrief had gone rather quickly. Inside the council chambers, only Yoda, Mace, and Obi-wan were present since it was not a major mission. Ahsoka was left sitting just outside the room, as she was in no condition to correlate what had happened. At least not yet. Anakin had managed to retell everything that had transpired within five brief minutes.

"Very unfortunate, this is," Master Yoda had said gravely. "Contact the family of the civilian, we must."

"How is your padawan?" asked Obi-wan.

"Ahsoka is taking it pretty hard. She's waiting just outside. She's not in any condition to talk about it just yet," answered Anakin.

"We agree the fault of the matter does not fall to her," stated Mace in his ever serious voice. "Still, we will need a full account of the incident from her as soon as possible."

"As soon as she's ready," Obi-wan clarified.

"I understand Masters," Anakin replied.

Anakin bowed and exited the room. Ahsoka looked up to him with sad eyes as he approached. She rose from the bench she sat on, and Anakin placed a hand on her shoulder as they solemnly made their way back to their quarters. Upon entering, Anakin knew she was now more alert, but was not quite ready to carry on a conversation. Still, he needed to make a point clear to her.

"It wasn't your fault Ahsoka. You know that, right?"

Ahsoka crossed her arms over herself as she slowly sat down on the couch. Her next words were so quiet; Anakin had to strain his ears to hear them. "But it was Master." She then did something Anakin had never seen her do before. With a small sniffle, tears began to silently drip down her cheeks.

The scene broke Anakin's heart. It also filled him with rage. That scum of a bounty hunter had not only killed an innocent woman, but was now responsible for the grief and blame Ahsoka now felt. He quickly tried to release that anger. It wouldn't help his padawan now.

Sitting down next to Ahsoka, Anakin embraced her tightly. "It was not, Ahsoka," he restated firmly. "I…I deflected that blast," her voice choked. "I'm so-o sorry M-master. It wa-as my fault she-e's dead!" Her tears were fast and her voice was filled with hiccups. Anakin held the girl for another moment, contemplating desperately how make her see it was not her fault.

"Ahsoka, listen to me." His voice was gentle but firm. "You did not fire that shot. The bounty hunter did. A shot intended to kill you. It _him_ who fired and it was _him_ who pulled the hostage up to take the shot in his place. _He_ and _he_ alone is responsible for the death of that woman, not you."

"But I deflected that blast at her! I should have been more ca-areful! I should have realized she was there sooner but I didn't and I am responsible fo-or that!"

"Ahsoka, I saw it happen. I _know_ it wasn't your fault. Even the council agreed it wasn't your fault. Master Windu said so himself."

"But that doesn't change the fact that an innocent person died from my actions!" Ahsoka cried. Her face was filled with despair. She looked so broken, Anakin thought.

With a nod of understanding, Anakin lifted her chin to look him in the eye before he responded. "Ahsoka, our job as Jedi, is to protect others." Her face fell as did more tears. Anakin continued, "But the thing is, we are not perfect. We cannot always control the outcomes of our actions. We can only do what we know to be best. And that's the worst part. Sometimes, we can do our best, and still not be able to save everyone. Sometimes, we will lose. Some will die. Innocent civilians even. And if we can never move past those failures, those losses and pain, then we are giving up for good. I need you to keep fighting Ahsoka. I need you to forgive yourself."

"I don't know how to do that, Master," she whispered.

"You will Snips. You just need to try." Anakin embraced her once more, as the padawan cried herself out.

The next few days were hard for Ahsoka. She continued to silently hold some of the blame for herself. Still, she kept her Master's words in mind. She tried to let it go, and not dwell in the misery. Little by little, she managed to forgive herself. She still ached whenever she reflected on the matter, but with her Master's help, she knew she would get through it. She would be okay.


	5. Embarrassing Mishaps

**Hello! This chapter is hopefuly a bit more light-hearted and less serious. It's also a bit shorter than the other chapters, but I hope you enjoy it. Also, if anyone has any suggestions for future chapters, just let me know in a review :)**

 **I own nothing of course...**

With a sigh, Anakin checked the time again. It confirmed that Ahsoka was over 25 minutes late. He and Obi-wan had been waiting for nearly half an hour now for the girl. The three of them were supposed to spend some time together going over information for an upcoming mission. The briefing however, was yet to begin due to the absence of a certain padawan.

"Well Anakin, will your padawan be joining us or should we begin?" asked Obi-wan.

"She'll be here," Anakin replied defensively. Then with less certainty he added, "…I think. Well it's not my fault! I told her last night what time the briefing would begin."

"I see. So then she is simply following your examples of punctuality," teased the Master Jedi. Anyone could tell Obi-wan was not truly troubled by the delay. Actually, he was quite enjoying teasing his former apprentice.

"Hey! I was on time this morning thank you very much." Anakin crossed his arms over his chest.

After another couple of minutes, Anakin tried to reach her through her comlink for the third time. This time she answered, but her response surprised them both.

"Snips? Where are you? You were supposed to be here over 30 minutes ago."

"I'm thorry Mathter! I'll be there ath thoon ath I can!

Both Obi-wan and Anakin exchanged a look. Since when did Ahsoka talk like that?

"Umm… Snips? Are you okay? Where are you?

"I'm fine. Jutht running a little late." She seemed to be trying desperately to speak normally. Trying, but failing.

"Where. Are. You?" Anakin demanded. Something was up. If she would not tell him, he would go to her and find out himself.

She hesitated and Anakin and Obi-wan exchanged another look. "I'm… um... uhh… in our quarthers. Maybe you thould start without me. Gotta go Mathter!"

"Well that sounded convincing," stated Obi-wan.

Anakin gave a heavy sigh. "Well I guess I better go see what trouble she got herself into. If she had another chemistry class project explode in our quarters, she will be spending the next month on kitchen cleaning duty! Last time it took two days of scrubbing to get whatever slime she had concocted off our walls."

Obi-wan volunteered to join him, and the two set off towards Anakin and Ahsoka's quarters. Upon arrival, a quick glance around the common room showed no sign of Ahsoka. She wasn't in her bedroom either. However, just as Anakin turned to exit her bedroom, he noticed something concerning.

There was a fair amount of blood staining her pillow. Several more drops were spotted on the floor by her bed. "Ahsoka?" Anakin called out in alarm. There was no answer, but he heard someone rattling around in the refresher. He moved towards the door, and knocked. After calling to his apprentice once more, he was finally graced with an answer.

"Yes Mathter?" Came her tentative voice.

"Ahsoka? Are you okay? Why is there blood!?" Anakin demanded.

"Jutht a… uh… small mithhap. I mean _mis_ hap." She replied. Her voice sounded muffled.

"Are you okay? What happened? Open the door."

"I'm fine. Uh good. All good here Mathter. Uh… how are you?"

More movement was heard from inside the refresher. Anakin sighed and rubbed a hand across his eyes. "Ahsoka, would you just open the door?" he asked annoyed.

He could hear her sigh in defeat from the other side of the door. Still, he was not prepared for the scene he saw a moment later when Ahsoka finally complied and opened the door. Her nose, left cheek, and upper left lip were painfully swollen. But that wasn't the worst part. Blood was flowing steadily from her nose and was smeared on her face and hands. There was a discarded bloody towel on the floor. She was currently holding a washcloth to her nose, trying to get the bleeding to stop. Her nose was clearly broken.

Both Anakin and Obi-wan straightened in alarm. "What happened!?" exclaimed Anakin. He gently removed the wash cloth to get a better look. Obi-wan then fetched a new clean cloth and handed it to the girl.

After hesitating, she replied. "I uh… I broke my nose."

"Well we can see that! My question is how!?"

"I told you. Jutht a thmall, I mean _sss_ mall mishap. It's fine. The bleeding's slowing down now."

Anakin looked her dead in the eye. "Ahsoka. What. Happened?" He was pretty sure someone had punched her. If so, he wanted to know who and to deal with them immediately.

Ahsoka gave another sigh. "I accidentally hit myself in the face in my sleep. I was half awake and was trying to pull my bedsheets up, lost my grip and hit my own face, okay?"

At first, Anakin looked confused as he processed this information. Then, despite his best efforts, be burst out laughing. Obi-wan stifled a chuckle himself, covering it with a cough.

Ahsoka glared. Still holding the cloth to her nose, she said, "It's not funny Mathter."

That only set Anakin off again. He doubled over in laughter. From the side, Obi-wan cleared his throat and suggested that maybe they should take Ahsoka to the Halls of Healing, trying desperately to suppress his grin. With tears in his eyes from laughing, Anakin straightened back up and nodded in agreement.

A short time later, Ahsoka sat on a chair as a healer handed her an ice pack to help the swelling. They had already gotten the bleeding to stop. Anakin, though now much more composed, still had the traces of an amused smile on his face. "Well Snips," he said. "At least you can look forward to laughing about this later right? Just think how funny Rex and the others will find it."

Ahsoka glared, as she continued to delicately hold the icepack to the lower half of her face. "Don't you dare! No one will be hearing about this ever! It's embarrassing enough as it is," she sulked.

"Don't worry about it so much Ahsoka," consoled Obi-wan. "Anakin had more embarrassing injuries than this as a padawan."

"What!? I did not!" exclaimed Anakin.

"Oh really?" Retorted Obi-wan. "What about the time you were 11 and you got stuck in that box?"

Anakin's eyes lit up with remembrance. "Ahsoka doesn't need to hear about that."

"Oh no. I want to hear about that. Go on Master Kenobi," Ahsoka grinned.

Anakin gave huff as his former master recounted the incident from his childhood. "Anakin had been my apprentice for about a year. Well one day, I received a call from one of the other masters, Master Gwyn. He was in charge of a mechanics class Anakin was taking and had asked me to get there right away. I quickly ran over, thinking either Anakin had been hurt or gotten into a fight with another padawan. However, it turned out that Anakin had somehow managed to get his rear end stuck in a half empty box of droid parts. It took Master Gwyn and me an hour to get him out. Even then it involved a trip to the healers, a gallon of butter, the force, and various tools to free him."

Ahsoka and Obi-wan laughed at the story. Meanwhile Anakin just rolled his eyes, though his face was red. "Haha. Yes very funny. So what? It was one incident."

"Oh no there is much more than just the one incident with you," Obi-wan pointed his finger. "Remember the time when you were 12? You broke your ankle after getting it stuck in the toilet."


	6. Blind Sided Part 1

**Here is part 1 out of 3 for the latest story. I hope it makes sense. Writing action-type scenes are harder to convey for me, but here it is. Thank you to those who have been following and reviewing! Reviews are always loved :) I hope to have part 2 up either by tomorrow or the day after.**

This mission was NOT going the way Ahsoka had hoped. So far, their plans had changed twice, she had lost over half her squad, and well, to put it simply, she was losing. Big time.

Several days ago, the Separatists had managed to steal some very valuable Republic intel. The information included of dozens of Republic battle strategies, security codes, and base locations. The stolen intel had been quickly traced back to a Separatist cruiser, _the Malice_.

Because they were already in a nearby system, the 501st fleet had been immediately dispatched to stop the information from being spread. The easiest way to do that was to destroy the ship that carried it. Unfortunately, just because that was the easiest way did not mean that the task was actually easy.

The Republic fleet had been able to quickly intercept the _Malice_ , jam their communications so the stolen intel could not be transmitted, and even damage their hyper drive. One would think they had their work cut out for them. However, this sentiment could not have been more wrong.

The _Malice_ was huge. It was easily the most massive Separatist ship the 501st had encountered. There was no way they would have enough fire power to destroy. This was especially true since it was also equipped with very advanced weaponry, making it difficult for the fleet to get close without being destroyed.

What was worse, Anakin knew it wouldn't be too much longer before the Separatists would be able to repair their hyper drive and escape with the information. There was no time to wait for backup. Their only other option was to infiltrate the _Malice_ and destroy it from the inside. They had managed to get a layout of the ship, and identify two separate and specific weak points from within that, if blown up, could set off a chain reaction and destroy the entirety of the ship. In order to work, both areas would have to be blown. One alone wouldn't cut it. The intel would go with it, since it had been downloaded into the _Malice's_ systems.

Because it was a battle ship, the _Malice_ was very well stocked with Battle droids and weapons. Due to those circumstances, Anakin had decided that stealth would be the best way to go. After sneaking onto the Separatist vessel, he would lead one squad of clones while Ahsoka lead another. Each to one of the two targeted sites. Each team would plant their explosives and then rendezvous back at their shuttle. Once they reached a safe distance, they would blow the ship and it would be another successful mission.

This plan turned out to be easier said than done. Ahsoka was only half way to her destination, a reactor room. She and the 12 men in her squad still had to make their way down 10 levels and then cross the engineering section of the ship to the a reactor room. There, they would have to plant their bombs.

That was when the plan changed for the first time. She and her men had run into a platoon of droids and the "stealth" part of the mission was thrown out the window. Rather than taking their time and sneaking down quietly, they would have to get there as quickly as possible, somehow hide the planted bombs in a manner that still allowed them to work, and then make a break for it.

Two of her men had been lost in that first run in with droids. After making their way down two more levels, they had been ambushed. Ahsoka managed to escape, but lost another four men in the process, as well as half of their explosives, which had been in the possession of two of the deceased troopers.

Ahsoka deflected blaster fire away from her remaining six men, as they continued to be pursued down a hallway. A destroyer droid got a little too close for comfort. Jumping on top of it, Ahsoka was able to take it out. She and the men were then able to stand their ground to take out the remaining droids that were currently after them. Still, they all knew it wouldn't be long before they encountered more. The whole ship was aware of their presence after all.

Making their way into a storage room, Ahsoka and the troops went over the inventory of their remaining supplies. Ahsoka held her lightsaber up for a light source in the dark room.

"It looks like we are running low on ammo," said Fives.

"And we've only got two of the four bags of charges left," added Echo. "The droids got the other two. That's not enough to get the job done. We may have to retreat."

Ahsoka resisted the urge to groan in frustration. Instead she said, "We just need to come up with a new plan. We'll have to get creative and find a way to supplement the lost charges."

They all sat in silence for a moment, contemplating what to do.

"We could try to raid their armory," suggested one of the clones.

"Yeah, but we have no idea where it is in this giant place," answered another.

"I may be able to rewire one of the reactors so it would overload. The only problem is I don't know how much time that would give us to get out," Ahsoka contemplated.

The others thought this over, but quickly agreed. As Fives pit it, "Well, either way we'll have to book it out of here. Might as well make it more fun."

Ahsoka grinned. "Well then let's get go…"

She never finished her sentence. Just then, she felt a quick warning before five commando droids burst open the doorway. She took out one, then two, before being tackled by the third. She heard blaster fire. One of her men screamed and she impaled the droid as it grasped her throat. As she rose, she saw the clones take out the last two droids.

Unfortunately, two more of her men lay dead. A third was on his knees, grasping his side as blood began to leak out from under his armor. She knew he needed medical attention right away. Besides herself, there was only Fives, Echo, and a now injured shiny left.

"They know where we are! We need to move now!" she ordered the three. Echo pulled his injured brother up, slinging an arm around his shoulders to help him walk. They immediately made a run down the hall and paused in an alcove. Ahsoka's wrist comm went off, and she again tried not to groan since she knew who it would be.

"Ahsoka!" the familiar voice of her master rang out from the comm.

"I'm here Master."

"Ahsoka listen to me. My squad and I finished planting our bombs above the control room and we are on our way back to the shuttle. R2 hooked up to their systems and found out that they know where you are! You need to retreat immediately. Meet us back at the shuttle. "

"But Master, we haven't made it to the reactor room yet. We are only a few levels away and could…"

Anakin cut her off. "No Ahsoka! There's no time! The separatists are sending half a dozen platoons of droids towards you as we speak. We can't get to you before they do, and if they find out we have two groups here instead of one they will be on top of both of us and none of us will get out. Do you understand? Get back to the rendezvous."

"But if we leave now the plan won't work!" she protested.

"We'll find another way," replied Anakin. "Just get back here!"

"I understand Master," she said before ending the communication.

"Okay. You three get back to the shuttle. You should be able to make it if you can hotwire a turbo lift," Ahsoka told her troops.

"Sir, what exactly are you planning? The General ordered all of us back," asked Echo.

"I'm going to complete the mission. I should be able to move faster if I go on alone. I am small enough to crawl through the vents, which I will take straight there," she said as she arranged both of the remaining packs of explosives to fit on her back.

"Sir, with all due respect, if the droids already know where we are, they will be able to track us back to the shuttle and overwhelm us there. We won't be able to wait for you."

"That's fine. I can find my own way off the ship. Now get moving," She ordered.

As she leapt into the vents above, she heard Echo mumble "The General is not going to like this."

The trip to the reactor room went slower than Ahsoka expected. The vents were narrow and she had to push one of the packs in front of her while pulling one behind with her feet. She was able to easily slide down the vents to the correct level.

As she got ready to exit the vents and enter the reactor room, her comm went off again. This time she did groan. "Ahsoka! I told you to get back here! Not finish the mission on your own!" Anakin yelled. She could hear blaster fire in the background and figured her troops must have reached him.

"Master I can do this! We can't risk not completing this mission. If the Separatists get away with the intel the Republic could be done for!"

She heard him deflecting blaster fire with his lightsaber. Somewhere a clone screamed and she knew they were surrounded. They had to leave now, but she was afraid Anakin would try to wait for her.

"Ahsoka! You need to get back here! We can't hold them off for much longer!"

"Go without me Master! I can find another ride. Just go!" She switched off her comlink.

She could practically feel the anger of her Master radiating from him from 20 levels away. But she needed to do this! Couldn't he understand that? Too many lives had already been lost in this war, and if the Separatists got away with the information just because she failed her mission, then how many more hundreds would die? Taking a deep breath, she collected the two packs and jumped out of the vent.

Anakin was furious. He had ordered Ahsoka and her men back to the rendezvous point and what happens? Her men, or what was left of them, show up but without Ahsoka! He knew the mission was important, but with the entire Separatist ship aware of her presence and location, the risks were simply too great. He was not willing to risk her life for the sake of the mission. They needed to just regroup, escape, blow what they could of the ship (his team had been successful in planting their charges and gotten back without a hitch), and find another way to finish the _Malice_ off.

But of course, Ahsoka just could not understand that. She had to disobey and try to finish the mission herself. The droids had followed the survivors from Ahsoka's squad back to their shuttle and were now pressing down on them. They were heavily surrounded.

Finally accepting Ahsoka would not be coming to her senses and escaping with them, Anakin ordered the men on board. He wanted to send them back to the Republic cruiser while he remained to search for and aid his padawan. However, he knew there was no way the men could get out of the heavy fire zone waiting for them once they took off unless he was there to fly them out. Every Separatist fighter would be on their tail. Besides, there was also no way he could make it down the 20 levels to Ahsoka's location with the amount of droids that would be in the way. The best the best thing he could do from here would be to get the troops back, and then try to re-board the _Malice_ closer to Ahsoka's location. Then he could get her out (and he could give her the massive scolding she had in store).


	7. Blind Sided Part 23

There were surprisingly few droids in the reactor room when Ahsoka entered. She figured most of them were still focused on Anakin's location or were combing the halls for her above. Because she had traveled through the vents, they had no way of knowing where exactly she was. At least not yet.

She made quick work of destroying the maintenance droids in the room and got to the task of setting the charges. After placing them strategically, she knew it would still not be enough to get the job done. Making her way over to the other side of them large room, she began the tricky task of trying to rewire one of the panels to the reactors.

She was almost done when she heard the clanking sound of approaching droids. "Come on… come on!" she muttered to herself. She had to get this finished before they arrived. "Yes!" she yelled triumphantly. Just in time too. She whipped out her lightsabers just as three destroyer droids rolled into the room, followed closed behind by multiple battle droids.

They immediately began to fire at her. She deflected their fire as she made a break for the vents. As she made the leap to enter, a bolt managed to graze her ankle. Momentarily distracted, her dive was less than graceful. Still, she managed to scurry through the vents and began to climb upwards. Needless to say, climbing up was much more exhausting than sliding down, especially with the ankle wound. But there was no time to inspect the damage. The reactor could blow any second.

She only needed to climb up about five levels to get to the closest escape pod. Just as her feet touched the ground, the reactor blew. The explosion caused a chain reaction and set off the charges as well. The ground shook violently. She felt another brief warning before her vision was filled with the colors of an explosion. Ahsoka registered the sensation of a searing heat as she was thrown several meters. The walls around her began to collapse and everything went dark.

Ahsoka didn't know how long she was out for, but when she opened her eyes she was half buried by burning rubble. She quickly, though warily, moved it aside and got to her feet. Her grazed ankle was now also searing from what she assumed to be a second degree burn, as was her calf and thigh. Her vision was spotty and she was nauseous. The ground continued to shake, and she knew that more explosions would continue to go off throughout the ship, thanks to her handy work.

That also meant she needed to get out. Immediately.

The escape pods were not far. Just around the corner actually. The rubble was easily moved aside with the use of the force and Ahsoka triumphantly reached and boarded an escape pod without further incident. As she took off, she saw more of the _Malice_ explode and she grinned.

Contacting the fleet and warning them not to shoot at her, Ahsoka ordered them to blow the charges that Anakin set at the other end of the ship. They did and Ahsoka breathed a sigh of relief as she watched what was left of the enemy ship get destroyed. The intel was safe.

That feeling of relief did not last long. Ahsoka's pod entered the cruiser's hangar bay. As she stepped out, she was met with the very angry face of Anakin Skywalker. It would be a lie to say Ahsoka wasn't nervous. She had blatantly disobeyed her master. Still, her face did not betray her and she approached him, trying her best to hide her limp. Defiantly, she crossed her arms over her chest, head held high to meet his gaze.

He continued to stare her down for another moment. The calm before the storm. And a storm it was indeed.

"What were you thinking, Ahsoka! You weren't thinking at all were you!? You full on disobeyed a direct order! I told you to retreat and you did the exact opposite! Do you realize how close you were to getting yourself killed!?"

Ahsoka had learned a long time ago, that when Anakin Skywalker was furious, sometimes it was best to let him yell himself out. Take whatever he needed to throw, and then respond with her rebuttal. But she was tired, covered in debris, and feeling like she had been run over by a stampeding bantha heard. Besides, no amount of Skywalker rage could deter her from knowing she did the job she needed to do. She had just saved countless lives by doing exactly what he would have done in her place.

"What I did, was complete the mission! I was in charge of blowing the reactor room, so that is what I did!" she yelled right back.

"What you did was disobey! You risked the lives of all of our men by having us wait longer at the rendezvous!"

"Well almost all of my men were dead!" her voice flinched slightly. "I sent those left back to the shuttle and told you not to wait for me!"

"Do you not realize that you blatantly disobeyed a direct order!?" he demanded.

"I know and I'm sorry." She tried her best to stop yelling. The clones in the hangar were all staring, not that she really cared, and she knew her master didn't notice. "I know I went against orders Master. But I also knew that if I didn't stay to finish my job, a lot of people would die. I couldn't let that happen."

Anakin wasn't deterred by her apology. He was still too angry. "That doesn't matter Ahsoka! You disobeyed just the same! You almost got all of us killed, including yourself!"

That only set her off again. "You would have done EXACTLY what I did had you been in my place!"

Anakin knew that statement was true, but would not admit it. "You are not supposed to do what you _think_ I would do! You are supposed to do what I _tell_ you to do!"

"Well then lesson learned," she bit back, placing her hands on her hips.

Anakin continued to stare her down for another moment. He finally took in how dirty she was. Most likely, she had been caught in one of the explosions. He also noticed she had a large bruise on her forehead with a small cut, trickling an ever so slight amount of blood. Still angry, he said, "Go get cleaned off and report for a check over at the medbay. We will continue this discussion later."

With that, Anakin stormed off to the bridge. Ahsoka stomped/ limped off to her quarters to clean up. She was still fuming at his lack of understanding. Yes, she had disobeyed. And she apologized for that! It's not like she wanted to go against his orders. But if they were to win, if they were to complete their mission, then she had to! Couldn't he see that!?

Ahsoka closed her door behind her and slammed her fist into the wall. Ow! _Bad idea_ , she thought shaking it off. She crossed the room and grabbed a clean tunic. Stepping into the refresher, she quickly washed of and put on her clean apparel.

As she strapped her belt back on, Ahsoka was hit with a severe wave of nausea. Words could not describe how thankful she was to already be next to the toilet, because before she knew it, she was retching, vomiting up her meager breakfast.

Her vision became spotty again and she felt like she was about to pass out. Still on her knees, she moved to sit back against the wall and waited for the room to stop spinning. It did after just a couple of minutes. She felt fine after that, minus a lingering headache and sore body.

 _Probably just the adrenaline wearing off_ , she thought. Rising off of the ground, Ahsoka went to fetch the small medical kit she kept in her quarters. Yeah yeah, her master had told her to get checked out at the medbay. But she knew she was capable of slapping bacta patches over a few small cuts and burns herself. He was being his normal, paranoid, over protective self. She wasn't a youngling anymore!

Delicately, she applied the bacta and bandages to the blaster graze on her ankle. Then to the burns that ran across the calf and thigh. They were red and blistering. She might have to replace her normal leggings with looser pants for a day or two. Maybe.

Ahsoka gave another sigh and rubbed her face with her hands. Her headache was getting worse and she really didn't want to go to the Medbay for pain meds. Water could help. Whenever the younglings in the Temple complained about a headache, the first thing that Clan masters always asked was, "Well, have you been drinking enough water today?"

As gently as she could, she pulled on her loosest fitting leggings and put on her boots. It was little surprise to see the Mess Hall full of troopers. It always seemed to be the hotspot after a battle.

Ahsoka walked across the large room to grab a glass of juice. "Hey, Commander!" She turned to see Fives waving her over to where he sat with Echo and Rex at a table. With a slight though tired smile, Ahsoka went to join them, glad to have a little company.

"We see you made it back one piece," said Fives nonchalantly. "I thought the General was going to tear our heads off when we showed up at the rendezvous without ya."

"Well the General doesn't always display the best case of judgement now does he," Ahsoka said without thinking. She was still a little bitter over their argument.

The clones at the table exchanged awkward glances towards one another, not sure how to respond to that.

"I'm sorry," Ahsoka quickly apologized, setting down her juice. She hadn't meant to make them feel uneasy. "I guess you could say my master and I had different opinions on my idea to finish the mission."

"Don't worry about it Sir. You know, the General is only trying to look out for ya?" Counseled Rex.

"I know, I know." She tried not to grumble.

Ahsoka drank the rest of juice as the others continued talking. Fives was recounting some humorous story about training. As she listened, the familiar black spots swam across her eyes. It seemed to last longer this time, and her headache was ever present.

"Commander Tano, are you alright?" came Rex's concerned voice.

Ahsoka realized she was grasping her head between both hands. It probably looked like she was having some sort of mental breakdown.

"I'm fine Rexter. Just a little headache is all."

Rex frowned as Fives and Echo shared a look. "Maybe you should have someone over at the Medbay take a look, just to be safe. You've got one heck of a shiner on your forehead." He suggested.

Ahsoka resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm fine. Honest. Just need to rehydrate."

But she really wasn't feeling that great. Not that she would admit it. The nausea was returning, though not as intense as before. She decided some sleep couldn't hurt and stood up from the table.

Immediately, the room did a 360 turn and she struggled to stay upright. Rex was at her side in a second. "Okay sir, maybe I should call the General. Have him…"

"No!" Ahsoka cut him off. "No, that won't be necessary Rex. I told you I'm fine. I just need to rest a bit is all. Besides, the General is probably busy informing the Council of his reckless and disobedient padawan."

With that, Ahsoka managed to stumble back to her quarters. There was no way in the galaxy she was going to go to Master Skywalker now, to tell him she wasn't feeling so good and that he was right, she might have gotten hurt because she was reckless and had disobeyed and on top of all that hadn't even gone to the Medbay like ordered. No thank you! She would skip on the 'I told you so's'.

Still, she _really_ wasn't feeling good. The back of her head felt like someone was taking a hammer to it and there was a really big possibility that she would lose that juice. Hoping to sleep it off, Ahsoka laid down on her bunk, not even bothering to remove her shoes.


	8. Blind Sided Part 3

**Hello again! Thanks to everyone still reading this story. Special thanks to McAwsome for your encouraging and kind updates, and to everyone else who has reviewed** **J** **Sorry if this chapter is a little sappy. Also, I have zero medical knowledge, and all medical type stuff in my stories is loosely based on minimum research. Hope you enjoy just the same. Remember, reviews are highly appreciated. Let me know what you guys want to see!** **J**

 **P.S.**

 **I wanted to let you guys know I am starting another story (this one will continue too!). It will be an Ahsoka origin story, based on the information revealed in the Ahsoka's Untold Stories Panel in Europe. I am going to write more of it before I start posting it, but it should be up in the next week or two. I am planning to call it "Ahsoka's Beginnings". Kind of a dull title, so let me know in a review if you have a better idea! Of course, I own nothing...**

Ahsoka wasn't sure how long she slept, but she was still groggy when her body woke her from the pain. Her headache was _definitely_ getting worse, though she wasn't sure how that was possible. It felt heavy, like thousands of pounds of pressure were squeezing her brain. The pain was so intense she could hardly bare it. Even with her eyes closed she could feel the room spinning.

Ahsoka tried to blink, but was met with pitch black. Confused, she pawed at her eyes. Still nothing. As the blackness and spinning continued, her confusion gave way to panic. Where was she? She was in her quarters onboard the Republic Cruiser right?

Desperately, she rose off her bunk, only to find herself on the hard metal floor a moment later. Disoriented, she tried to rise. She was unable to do so without falling right back down. Her fear heightened. Between the blackness covering her eyes and the intense spinning, she couldn't even navigate across the room to the door. Stuck on her knees, she curled up, grasping her head, as she tried to get her breathing under control.

/

It had been several hours since the _Malice_ had blew, and Anakin had yet to leave the bridge since his little 'discussion' with his padawan. After that encounter, Anakin had reported to the Council via halo transmission to tell them of their success. He was purposefully vague on the details. Despite his frustration with Ahsoka, Anakin did not want the council to know of her disobedience lest they punish her in some unreasonable way that fell out of his hands. Still, you could bet _he_ would be delivering some form of discipline as well as a good talking to.

Anakin had spent the last couple of hours forming said lecture in his mind. He was determined to get her to see the irresponsibleness and sheer stupidity of what she had done. The main problem with that, was she had been right earlier. What Ahsoka had done was _exactly_ what he would have done in her place. Get the others to safety, ensure their escape, and then finish the job alone.

Still, _she_ should not have disobeyed. Didn't she realize how close she was to getting herself killed? She should not be taking risks like that! She was only a padawan. Why did she have to be so stubborn? She just never knew when to draw the line! When to step back away from the danger and take orders as told.

True, this really hadn't been a mission they could have afforded to fail. If they hadn't been able to completely destroy the Separatist ship and stolen information, and the Separatists had managed to transmit the intel, then the Republic's chances at winning the war would have spiraled dangerously low. But at the same time, what if Ahsoka completing the mission had cost her, her life? That was not a risk he had been willing to take. She should have listened and he was determined for her to realize that before she pulled another one of those stunts again!

Such thoughts were still circling in Anakin's mind when he felt it. A strange pain in his head. It was accompanied by a feeling of panic and confusion. Right away he knew it was not coming from him, rather from the bond he shared with his apprentice. Something was wrong.

Leaping up, Anakin took off towards Ahsoka's quarters. He didn't even bother to knock but ran straight into the room. Immediately, his stomach dropped at the sight. Ahsoka was crouched in the fetal position. Her hands were clasped around her head and eyes closed tight.

"Ahsoka!" he yelled in alarm, rushing to her side. "Ahsoka talk to me!"

Ahsoka didn't move but her eyes shot open at his voice. "It hurts Master. I… I can't see," she said weakly, voice trembling.

"Where does it hurt?" he demanded, looking her over with his eyes.

"My… my head."

Rather than question the girl further, Anakin scooped Ahsoka up and took off for the Medbay. Upon their arrival, the medics quickly moved her to take a medical scan to try to find the problem. After administering some pain medication for her head and examining her eyes, the medics left the room to check the results of the scan.

The wait was a tense one. Anakin spent it pacing back and forth. Ahsoka, unable to see, lay stiffly on her side, slightly curled in, on the exam table. The medicine was finally kicking in and as the pain dulled her body relaxed.

Thankfully, the head medic was not gone long as the results came in rather quickly. Anakin stopped his pacing in favor of approaching the medic.

"We have the diagnosis," the medic began. "It would appear the head pain and loss of sight are both due to a recent head trauma. Commander, can you recall when this might have happened?" Both he and Anakin turned to Ahsoka, waiting for a response.

She seemed reluctant to answer at first. "On board the Separatist ship. I got thrown by one of the explosions on my way out."

"And have you been experiencing any pain or visual impairments since then? Before the General brought you in I mean."

Again her answer was sheepish. "Only a little. My vision was a kind of spotty and I had a bit of a headache. But I didn't think much of it until I woke up and couldn't see."

Anakin sighed and the medic went to continue. "I see. I am afraid the head trauma is indeed a rather serious one. It would appear you received a slight concussion, but that's not the main problem."

"Then what is?" growled Anakin impatiently.

"It would seem the force of the blow to her head caused a blood clot. It is currently blocking the blood and therefore oxygen flow to the occipital lobes in her brain, causing the blindness, and I would assume adding to the head pains. You will need emergency surgery to correct the problem. Without it, your condition will worsen and could be fatal. Hopefully, once the blood flow can be corrected, your vision will return to normal."

Both Anakin and Ahsoka's heads were spinning with this information. Neither of them spoke a word as she was taken by a medical droid to be prepped for the surgery. Anakin was left to wait until being allowed into the new room with her.

As he entered, he couldn't help but notice how small she seemed in the bed meant to accommodate grown men almost twice her size. She was wearing a dull grey medical gown and bracelet. He could feel the dread and anxiety radiating from her as she nervously tapped her fingers to her arm. Still she did not speak. It would be another few minutes before the medics and surgery room were ready.

Anakin crossed the room and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Ahsoka…" he began.

She cut him off quickly. "I already know Master. I was stupid, shouldn't have disobeyed orders in the first place, and should have gone to the Medbay when you said. I brought this on myself."

Anakin stood shocked at first, but recovered quickly. "Snips, that's not what I was going to say." He struggled to keep the exasperation out of his voice before he continued. "I just… I'm sorry I yelled at you like I did earlier. You did a brave thing back there, on the ship."

"What?" Ahsoka raised in eyebrow in surprise.

Anakin sighed and gently moved to sit at the edge of the bed.

"The truth is Snips, I was mostly upset because… I was just scared you wouldn't be making it out of that one. The mission wasn't worth your life. Not to me."

Ahsoka was taken aback by his apology and confession. "I'm sorry I caused you worry Master. And I really am sorry for disobeying your orders again. I just didn't want the mission to fail, especially when I had just lost so many of my men."

"Don't worry about it Ahsoka. I just want you to know I'm proud of you."

Despite still not being able to see, Ahsoka smiled. "Thanks Master."

Her smile faded quickly and Anakin could feel her anxiety rising again.

"What's wrong Snips?"

"It's just… What if… What if I still can't see after the surgery. The medic said 'hopefully' my sight would come back but…"

This time, Anakin cut her off. "Hey, it's going to be fine. These guys know what they're doing and I promise you're going to be okay."

"Okay," she replied quietly. She knew he was nervous too, and that he didn't know any more than she did on how this surgery was going to turn out. But she was grateful for the comfort he gave.

Just then, a couple of medics entered to take Ahsoka to surgery. Feeling her slight panic, Anakin pulled her into a hug and gave her hand a strong squeeze. They both knew he wouldn't be allowed in the operating room, but he walked with them to the door. He promised to be waiting for her just outside as the doors closed. Although it could get annoying, she had to admit that _sometimes_ having a worry-wort of a master could be kind of nice.


	9. Reflections

**This is more of a reflection chapter from Anakin's point of view (hence the title). It is by far the shortest one shot I have written. It's not as exciting (sorry about that) but I hope you still like it. Also, I know Ahsoka was really supposed to be 14 when she became Anakin's padawan, but for the purpose of my stories, I pretend she was just 12.**

Anakin walked irritably through the halls of the Jedi Temple. He and Ahsoka had only just gotten back the day before from their last mission. Tomorrow, they would be shipping out on their next one. He was a bit disappointed they wouldn't have more time off. This was especially true now, as he had just been instructed by the council they would need to spend the rest of the day researching and preparing for their mission tomorrow. They would be traveling to another war torn planet, somewhere in the Mid-rim.

Anakin needed to find his padawan so they could begin the dull preparations. The sooner he found her, the sooner they could get started and be done with it. He had tried calling her commlink, only to find it left behind in their quarters. This left him to search her usual spots in the Temple. She hadn't been in the Library, Mess hall, or the Youngling Wing (she liked to volunteer there). He was starting to get cross at the delay.

The Jedi knight knew well that he couldn't always expect Ahsoka to be at his beck and call. Still, he wished she had been responsible enough to at least mention where she was going. She could have at least remembered her comlink! How did a padawan, and army commander, do something as juvenile as forget their comlink? He needed her to be more dependable, and as he searched he began formulating the long lecture he would be giving her about that.

The only other place Anakin could think of were the Temple gardens, so he began making his way there. The gardens, also known as the Room of a Thousand Fountains, extended throughout the entire length of the bottom level of the Temple. He had been hoping his apprentice would be found someplace else so he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of searching the gardens' entirety; but that task was clearly inevitable.

Shortly upon Anakin's entrance into the large garden room, a familiar force signature drew him near. With a slight scowl, Anakin made his way to the section of the gardens were he sensed his padawan to be.

This section of the garden was known as The Clearing. It was small meadow-like place with several trees. Because it was a common area for the younglings to pay, it was surrounded by shrubbery to help contain any 'disruptive' noises they might make. Anakin was just rounding the corner to the Clearing's entrance when he was stopped in his tracks.

Prominent laughter and the playful shrieks of younglings filled his ears. He saw about a dozen younglings of various ages as well several padawans. They were all heavily engaged in some sort of chasing game.

Amongst them was his padawan, with perhaps the biggest smile on her face that he had yet to see. She was laughing as she dodged the attempt of another padawan trying to tag her. In the year since Ahsoka had become his apprentice, Anakin had never once seen her laugh. Sure, she would grin or chuckle. But she had never actually _laughed_. It was a pretty and melodic noise.

Quickly, Anakin dodged behind a tall bush. He made sure his shields were up so they wouldn't sense him watching them. He continued his observations.

A few of the kids were scaling the trees, having jumped into them to escape being tagged in their game. An older padawan was currently giving chase to a youngling. She was probably about six. In her attempt at escape, the young girl tripped and was about to get tagged, but Ahsoka scooped her up and sprinted away as the little girl shrieked in joy. The older padawan pretended to be upset, stomping his foot, which only roused laughter from the others, including Ahsoka.

"So not fair, Soka!"

"What's not fair, Zed? That two girls are faster than you?"

More laughter followed and Anakin was laughing quietly to himself. He had never seen Ahsoka so at ease. So filled with simple joy. The feeling was apparently contagious, as Anakin found himself relaxing as he continued to watch their game.

It wasn't for another few minutes that his own smile faded, as Anakin suddenly recalled the task he had come here to do. He needed to collect his padawan to prepare for their mission tomorrow. To his own surprise, he found himself incredibly reluctant to do so, despite his earlier rush.

With a sigh, he straightened and was about to call out to her, when he was again stopped at what he saw. Ahsoka had been chasing two of younglings about her age when the three of them all collided. Two of them, including Ahsoka, fell opposite ways on the ground while the third was projectiled into a large bush. Laughter erupted from all of them. Ahsoka was laughing so hard she couldn't get off the ground.

Anakin found himself laughing again as well when he had his second epiphany. Some of those younglings were Ahsoka's age! Ahsoka was still technically young enough to be a youngling! A creeping guilt began to fill him.

Here he had been, planning to lecture Ahsoka about responsibility and being more dependable just because she had forgotten her comlink, when she was still a 13 year old kid! True, she was a padawan learner and a commander in a war so she needed to be those things. And she usually was. To an impressive degree even.

Here, the council, republic, and himself would dump loads of expectations and responsibilities on her, and never stop long enough to recognize the child she still needed to be from time to time. She was expected to lead troops in harsh battles, go days with little to no sleep, fight for her life and the lives of others, and go on back to back missions for weeks on end.

It was enough information for Anakin to have reached his decision. Finally, he straightened back up, and then quietly walked away. Anakin could handle a day's worth of mission research and briefings by himself. For today, he was determined that Ahsoka would get to enjoy being a kid. Tomorrow she could go back to being a padawan learner and military commander. Today, she would be a kid


	10. Crash Landing

**Hello! Big thanks to all those still reading this! This chapter will have two parts, so here is the first half :)**

 **P.S.**

 **So some of you have already noticed, I just started my second story which I had mentioned last week. It is now up and is called "A Padawan's Discovery". Like this story, it should be updated once if not twice a week.**

Ahsoka's fighter ship spun as she avoided colliding with an oncoming vulture droid. She grit her teeth as three more began to follow her.

"Ahsoka! You've got three on your tail!" came Anakin's voice through the comm.

"I know Master!" she replied with an eye roll.

She was annoyed that she had gotten herself into that position in the first place. The feeling was intensified as her master had already noticed her predicament.

"Hold on! I'm coming to you," Anakin said urgently. He was clearly more concerned about the matter than she was.

"I can handle it, Master!" she said irritably. Yeah, she was in a tough spot; but she could get herself out of it. The last thing she wanted was to have to be rescued like some incompetent youngling.

Determined to lose the vulture droids before Anakin got there, Ahsoka flipped her fighter to get behind the one closest to her. She was able to shoot it down instantly, but was made more vulnerable to the other two. She gasped when her ship was hit, as it shook threateningly. Thankfully the shields held and she put some distance in between her and the pursuing droids.

The space battle had been going on for only a few minutes. The intensity was quickly escalating as both Anakin and Ahsoka's squads fought to keep the Separatist fleet at bay. They were trying to defend the planet of Kionna in the mid-rim. It was a city planet, and the separatists had been coordinating attacks, as they tried to extend their territory.

Anakin's fleet was dispatched to protect the planet. Currently, the separatists were attempting another run at breaking through to the planet's surface, resulting in the ongoing battle. Both Anakin and Ahsoka were determined they would not get through, and they each led squads to repel the droids.

The main problem, in Ahsoka's opinion, was that Anakin seemed more concerned with watching over her and correcting every little thing than with his own squad. Ever since Mortis, he had been acting more overprotective than usual. Even after the Citadel mission a couple weeks ago, in which she had clearly proved herself capable, Anakin had remained as so. She was pleasantly surprised that he was actually letting her lead a squad rather than keeping her cooped up on the command ship.

That feeling was now becoming replaced with exasperation. Every minute or so, he kept telling her things like, "Watch your flank, Snips! Don't cut it so close! Heads up, Ahsoka!" and so on. Would he just worry about his own squad and skin and let her do her job?!

Ahsoka managed to fly her ship around a tight corner of the Separatist Cruiser. The two droids following her failed to make the turn and subsequently crashed. Ahsoka grinned in triumph.

"Careful, Ahsoka! That turn was too close!"

Ahsoka tried really hard not to snap at him. "I know what I'm doing, Master," she said tightly.

Ahsoka moved to regroup with her squad. She was relieved when Anakin did the same. The next minutes were filled with the intensity of the battle. Troopers and droids alike were shot down. For a while, the Republic soldiers feared that there was really a good chance the droids would be getting through.

Thankfully, this fear proved unnecessary. It wasn't too much longer until the battle was turned around and the droids were pushed back. Well, most of them.

"A couple droids got through!" shouted one of the clone pilots in Asoka's squad.

"I'm on it!" she responded.

Quickly, she redirected her ship around and towards the droids. As she flew closer to the two vulture droids, she fired consecutively until they were destroyed. Her triumph was short lived.

Out of the exploded droid remains, came the dreaded buzz droids. _Not good! Not good! So not good!_

"R7, get those things off!" she yelled.

The ships emergency lights began to flash in warning as more parts became disabled.

"Ahsoka! How bad is it?" came Anakin's voice right on schedule.

"I can handle this, Master!" she declared. _Could she?_

Using the force she pushed off a few of the droids.

"Please don't find the engines. Please don't find the engines," she murmured to herself as she worked to get them off.

"Just then, the ship shook and smoke began to pour out, trailing behind her.

"And _that_ would be the engines," she said flatly. "This is Commander Tano. I've lost my engines. I'm going try to land on the planet's surface," she relayed.

"Snips! Are you alright? Talk to me, Ahsoka!" Anakin demanded.

At this point, Anakin had maneuvered his ship to fly just behind hers as it descended quickly through the atmosphere. She was going down, no question; but Ahsoka was sure she could keep it level until she found a place to land.

"I'm fine, Master! Just some engine troubles- Agh!" She let out the small cry as the ship shook again.

 _Of course this would happen!_ She growled to herself. Of course, she would get herself into trouble just at the time she was trying to prove her independence to her master!

Another alarm went off in her ship. Looking down, her heart dropped. _My controls are gone!_

The buzz droids had not only crippled her engine, but had also now disabled her controls. There was no way for her to control the ship to keep it level. It fell even faster in a now uncontrolled dive through the atmosphere. Flames burst on the outside and the dead controls began to spark.

Ahsoka's frustration was instantly replaced with fear. If the ship was not kept level, there was no chance she could land without the whole thing blowing up on impact.

"Master, I lost my controls!" she cried.

"It'll be okay, Ahsoka! I promise! This is what I need you to do: open up the control panel and cut the second to last red wire. Reattach it to the middle grey one and then pull up on the controls as hard as you can." Anakin spoke quickly.

Ahsoka did as he said as fast as she could. She sensed the increasing danger as the ground approached at an alarming rate. The air in the ship was getting beyond toasty and the sparks stung her fingers.

Finishing the task, she pulled up with all her might. For a moment, the ship leveled, though it still fell too fast.

"Aim for that platform. Dead ahead!" Anakin spoke.

"I see it!"

The landing platform was several hundred meters away but quickly approaching. Suddenly, the controls sparked again and the little control she had was lost for good. The ship tilted downwards just before she reached the platform.

Ahsoka had just enough time to call out to her master through their bond in her panic. It was pure instinct. Then everything went black.

 **/**

Anakin knew he was pushing the patience of his padawan lately, but he couldn't help it. Even though it had been a couple of months, he couldn't get passed nearly losing her on Mortis. He still hadn't told her the full story of what had happened, nor did he ever plan to. He could _not_ , under any circumstances, go through that again. So yes, he was being extra cautious with Ahsoka.

Still, he knew in the back of his mind that he couldn't protect her from everything. A fact that was all too apparent as he watched her ship plummet through the atmosphere of Kionna. Desperately, he pursued her, trying to keep up with the falling ship's pace. He could sense her fear, but her determination as well as she followed his instructions on how to regain control of her ship.

For a moment, the fighter ship was once again perfectly leveled. It looked like she would make it. But, when the landing platform was just mere meters away, her fighter shook violently and the nose tipped downwards.

The next seconds were some of the most terrifying of his life. He was completely helpless to do anything. It was made worse when he heard Ahsoka's terrified cry. All she said was, "Master!" but in that, Anakin recognized the panic and the desperate call for his help. She needed him and he could do nothing but watch as her ship hit the platform.

The angling and momentum caused the ship to roll at least half a dozen times. Parts were flying everywhere and the air was filled with flame and smoke. _No no no!_

When it finally came to a halt on the far end of the platform, Anakin wasted no time. He jumped out of his fighter and sprinted to the crash site while calling her name. R2 flew just behind him, also concerned for his friend.

When Anakin reached her ship, the thing (or what was left) was still flaming, so he used the force to rip it open. Without hesitation, he jumped next to her, scooped her up, and force leapt away. A small part of him remembered that it was best to wait for a medic to move her, but there was no time for that. He had only just placed her on the ground when what was left of the fighter was blown sky high.

Urgently, Anakin looked her over. She was beaten, scraped and unconscious. "Ahsoka! Can you hear me?" he tried. There was no answer or movement, so Anakin reached out his fingers to her neck to check for a pulse. There was nothing.


	11. Crash Landing part 2

**Okay, sorry for the wait. I had a ton of trouble writing this one. Writer's block hit and I couldn't quite figure out the direction I wanted this chapter to go. I wasn't totally thrilled with this one, but hopefully you enjoy it. Sorry if they seem a little off character...**

I own nothing...

 _Not again. Not again! No_! He was not about to lose his padawan for the second time!

Anakin immediately began CPR on his apprentice, desperate to get her back. Two breaths, 30 pumps. Two breaths, 30 pumps. "Come on, Ahsoka!" he yelled at her.

Thankfully, there had already been some clone troopers on the landing platform before the crash, so they were able to call for an emergency medical evac. Other than that, there was nothing they could do but watch the General try to bring the commander back.

Two breaths, 30 pumps. Two breaths, 30 pumps. Anakin didn't know how long this had gone on, but his eyes began to fill with bitter tears. _No no no!_ "Come On!" He neither registered nor cared at his show of emotion. It wasn't until the first of the tears fell that Ahsoka gave a small coughing sound. Her eyes briefly fluttered open, before closing again.

"Ahsoka!" Anakin was overwhelmed to see the soft rise and fall of her chest.

The surrounding clones all gave sighs of relief and the medical evac ship finally arrived.

Everything was a blur for Anakin as Ahsoka was transported to a Medbay. The next thing he knew he was pacing back and forth in the waiting room.

It wasn't until a few hours later when a medic announced Ahsoka was out of surgery. She was currently in a recovery room and the medic volunteered to take Anakin to her. He jumped up to follow. On the way, the medic gave Anakin her diagnosis.

"She has some second degree burns on her back and hands. We wrapped the areas in bacta patches, so they should be fine in a few days. Besides some lacerations and bruising, she also had a collapsed lung, broken collar bone, and two broken ribs. That has seemed to cause some trouble with her breathing, so she will need an oxygen mask for a couple of days."

Anakin entered the room. He wasn't sure exactly what he was expecting to see, but the sight before him gave him a jolt. Ahsoka lay in the medical bed with her torso, chest, and hands wrapped securely in bandages. Her face was half covered by an oxygen mask and her skin might as well have been blue with all the bruises she was covered in. Her arms had various IV's and tubes.

Anakin was taken by surprise at the dizziness that ensued upon this sight, and moved to sit down in a nearby chair. It wasn't the first time he had seen her like this. Still, how had he let this happen again? Too many times, had he been forced to watch her get hurt. Twice now, he had been forced to watch her lie lifeless. She was barely 16! Why in the blazes did the Republic, _the Jedi_ , allow 16 year olds into a war in the first place?! Why did _he_ let her? Well, no more. He was done with watching her put her life on the line like this. From now on, Anakin was determined to keep her safe, and to do that he was not afraid to keep her off missions unless they were low risk. No matter the Council's (or Ahsoka's) objections. She was _his_ padawan. _His_ responsibility.

Anakin remained at Ahsoka's side as much as he could throughout the next day. She remained unconscious for that time. The medics insisted that it was normal and to be expected. Thankfully, Rex and the Admiral were more than capable of cleaning up the battle and the Separatists made no further advances in that time. The one time Anakin did have to leave for a debriefing, Rex was there to watch over her.

As always when Ahsoka was hurt, the silence and her stillness were chocking. Anakin tried to utilize that time to find plausible ways to keep his padawan from future harm. His common sense was returning and he knew that keeping her off of every semi-dangerous mission was way to unrealistic. Maybe he could insist she take more classes at the Temple so she would be confined on Coruscant for an extended period. He could go off on the missions and she would be safe with her friends.

Even as he thought this, Anakin knew it was not going to happen. The Council knew of her advanced capabilities and would insist on her partaking in the missions.

/

It was the beginning of the second day when Ahsoka finally woke up. The first thing she registered was the dryness in her throat. Her eyes weren't even open yet when the memory of the crash hit her conscious full force. She sat up with a panicked gasp, still expecting to be in her demolished ship. Her fearful gasp was replaced with one of pain and she grabbed onto her middle. Lacking strength, her body fell back onto mattress. There was something on her face and her hands pawed at it to try to get it off.

What was going on? Her mind was racing. The ship was crashing. Her 'landing' was thrown off. She was in her fighter… How did she get here and where was here!?

Anakin was sitting, stubborn as ever, in the chair across from her bed when he heard her gasp and her heart monitor skyrocketed. Rushing into her line of site, he tried to calm her down before she hurt herself. Well, hurt herself worse.

"It's okay, Snips!" He moved her hands away from the breathing mask and repositioned it.

"Master?" she crocked still scared.

"I'm right here, Ahsoka. You're safe."

"The crash…"

"It's alright. You're here safe in the Medbay. Just calm down, okay?"

Ahsoka took a deep breath as she took in her surroundings. She hated waking up like that. As her heart beat slowed, the pain set in. Everything _hurt_! Her head, back, arms, chest, middle. Even breathing!

Anakin immediately recognized the look of pain she tried to hide. He reached to the wall behind her to the pain relief switch. The meds kicked in fast and Ahsoka's features relaxed. It still hurt, but it was bearable.

As the meds worked, Anakin breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you're okay, Snips." He told her. "The crash was pretty bad. I pulled you out and you weren't breathing at first. I thought I had lost you again. You've got some broken bones, burns, and some nasty bruising but we'll have you out of here soon, okay?"

The lack of pain allowed Ahsoka the chance to fully recall the situation that landed (no pun intended) her back into the Medbay. The buzz droids, the battle, the disastrous crash landing… And of course, the feeling of annoyance of having her Master hovering and breathing down her neck!

Of course she would crash and get hurt at a time like this! Right when she was trying to prove herself. Prove that she was capable. That she could take care of herself and complete her mission. And what happens? She crashes her ship and has to be rescued like some incompetent youngling! She even has to be calmed down by her master like some scared little girl! She should be old enough to handle herself. What kind of a Jedi was she? What chance did she ever have of becoming a Knight if she made mistakes like that? Seriously! No wonder Anakin felt he had to be so protective if she kept acting so incompetently…

Ahsoka was so filled with her thoughts that she didn't even register she had her shields down. Therefore, Anakin could feel every one of Ahsoka's self-deprecating thoughts and they hit him like a punch in the gut. Did she really think he lacked that much confidence in her? Not wanting to embarrass her, he chose to say nothing about it at the moment and instead asked if she felt like eating. After a small and simple meal of 'patient food' as Ahsoka called it, Anakin told her to get some rest.

/

Anakin went to walk the halls to organize his thoughts. First, he was overwhelmingly relieved that she was going to be okay. Still, knowing how she felt about the crash was troubling. Especially since it _did_ kind of correlate with his thoughts the other day. So maybe he had been secretly planning to lock her away in the Temple to keep her safe. And yeah… he had been overprotective even by his standards. But in his defense, it had nothing to do with her own abilities. He just wanted her to be safe. Knowing this did little to quench the guilt that Ahsoka's now arising self-doubts were due to his own uncontrolled fears of losing her.

She had been his apprentice for four years now. Time and time again, she had proven herself more than able of her position. At just 16, her lightsaber skills were rivaling that of some of the Knights. She was highly respected by their troops for her strategies and courage. She (almost) always thought things through to a fault, and kept a level head in the most intense situations… So why was he treating her like she was 12 again!?

Hovering over her like he had been the last few months and restricting her missions had not prevented her from getting hurt the other day. It would not prevent her from getting hurt in the future. All it was doing was taking away her self-esteem. Now, because of him, she was filled with self-doubt and he was lamenting in the hallway of the cruiser.

/

Ahsoka woke up again a few hours later. After coaxing her to eat a little more and another dose of pain medication, Anakin tried to gather the courage to come clean about what was on his mind. Even a non-Jedi could see Ahsoka's irritation and Anakin knew what lay behind it.

"Ahsoka," he began. "I wanted to apologize."

She thought she knew where he was going. She moved the breathing mask to the side to speak more clearly.

"Master, me getting myself hurt again was not your fault, it was mine. So please don't start blaming yourself for…"

"That's not it, Snips," Anakin cut her off. "You getting hurt was the droids' fault. Not mine or _yours_. Understand?"

Ahsoka blinked in surprise. She was fully expecting him to go into another, 'I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, this is all my fault' sort of speech. He was really good at those.

"What I wanted to say was this: I know I've been slightly more overprotective of late. It's just that… I still struggle with attachments. You know that. Lately, after Mortis… I allowed my fear of losing you take over. I'm sorry if that has been causing you to have any self-doubts. I just want you to know that the way I've been treating you has nothing to do with you or your abilities. You are incredibly skilled and competent and I am so proud to have you as my padawan."

Ahsoka was both shocked and touched at his confession.

So maybe she had been wrong about her assumptions as to why Anakin was so cautious with her. Maybe she shouldn't be so self-critical over every mistake. And though she would never admit it, maybe having someone care about her was kind of nice and comforting from time to time.

"Thank you for telling me, Master. I have to ask you something though…"

"What is it?"

"When can I get out of here? You said earlier I would leave the Medbay 'soon', but how soon?"

Anakin chuckled. He knew how much she hated the Medbay.

"'Soon' as in at least another day or so and then bedrest for a few more days. And no complaints! The stiller you are the sooner you'll heal. Doc says too much movement risks further damage to your lungs and broken bones. Now put the oxygen mask back on. You're starting to wheeze."

Ahsoka groaned but complied.

There was one more thing Ahsoka would have to ask about when she was out of the Medbay. When she first woke up, her Master had let slip that he had almost lost her 'again'. While she didn't know what exactly he had meant by this, she had a nagging feeling that it had something to do with whatever he refused to tell her about Mortis. She needed to ask about that…

 ** _Fun fact you may have already known. The word 'Mortis' is actually Latin for 'death'. I took Latin the last few semesters, and when I saw that word in my vocab list I freaked out a little because, ya know… Star Wars in Latin!_**


	12. Tattle Tale

**Sorry for the wait. So this is another short one. It's yet another light and fluffy piece because I like happiness.**

When Ahsoka had first stepped out of that ship back on Christophsis, Anakin was adamant that he did _not_ want a padawan; especially one so young, so inexperienced. How in the galaxy was a 12 year supposed to keep up with his fast paced nature in the middle of a war? How was he supposed to keep her from getting herself killed? If her overambitious, overly eager, and snippy traits were anything to go by, she was definitely going to be more trouble than she was worth.

However, all of these concerns were quenched by the end of their first mission together. True, she was still overambitious, eager, and snippy. But she really was a good kid. After having her as a padawan for almost a two years now, he often easily forgot how young she was. She was incredibly smart, dependable, and mature for anyone, even a Jedi padawan, her age. Well, most days…

Anakin walked through the halls of the Senate building. It was a late, rainy morning, and he was exhausted after having had spent the last few hours in a meeting with the Chancellor, several senators, and a several other Jedi. They were taking a short break from the long meeting and Anakin had realized he had forgotten his data pad. It held some important files that would be needed for the second half of the meeting. Not wanting to spend the entirety of the break rushing back to the Temple to pick it up, he had decided to contact his padawan and have her simply transfer the files to Padme.

Ahsoka answered her commlink almost right away, as though she was waiting for his call. Before Anakin could put in his request or even say a word, Ahsoka's rushed voice filled his ears.

"Okay Master, before you get angry, I can explain!"

Anakin raised a confused eyebrow at this but didn't have a chance to cut in before she continued. She spoke so fast he had trouble processing it at first. Instantly this made him nervous. She only spoke like that when she was in trouble.

"It wasn't my fault. We didn't know Master Cal was there and we most certainly didn't mean to drench him with the rain water. And Padawan Zed started it first. We were crossing the outside courtyard as a short cut to our class, and Zed decided to kick one of the puddles at Padawan Una and me. Well, I know we should have left it alone, but it kind of got out of hand. Well, I mean, it really wasn't _that_ bad. Master Cal was just bit overdramatic because his halo-book got a tiny bit wet and he's old. But anyways, we might have _accidentally_ ended up in a minor water fight and _accidentally_ force pushed a puddle at Mater Cal. Which is why he contacted you to complain. And also…"

"Ahsoka!?" Anakin finally cut her off.

"Yes Master?" she replied nervously.

"Master Cal didn't contact me," he stated matter of fact.

The line was silent for a moment. Anakin knew her eyes were probably wide as she processed what he had just said.

"Ohh… "

"Ahsoka?"

"Yes Master?" her voice was even more uncertain than before.

"Do you remember those files I had saved on my data pad for the meetings today? I need you to please transfer them over to Senator Amidala. And Ahsoka?"

"Yes Master?"

"You will also be writing a two page apology letter to Master Cal by this evening."

He heard a sigh from the 14 year old girl. "I understand Master."

Anakin ended the transmission and let out an amused laugh. Ahsoka was a very mature student. It was moments like these that her true age would reveal itself, and it was always amusing.

He kind of felt bad about making her write the letter to Master Cal. Cal was old, cynical, and retired from missions. He often complained over little (and ridiculous) things about the teenaged padawans. Still, having Ahsoka do so was one of his responsibilities as her master.

/

Back at the Temple, Ahsoka sat with her friends Zed and Una in her quarters. Just having finished her accidental confession, she slapped a hand to her head.

"So, you just totally tattle-taled on yourself?" clarified Zed.

"Yup. Now I get to write Master Cal a two paged apology letter," Ahsoka answered flatly. She knew she had gotten off easy. Still, she was annoyed.

"Lucky!" cried Una. "My Master is making me write a three page apology letter!"

Zed looked appalled. "You both got lucky! I have to do four pages _and_ put in extra hours volunteering in the Mess Hall!"


End file.
